Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Syracuse Orange

The Cardinals stay on the road and head to upstate New York to take on the Orange.
Jan 7, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Terrence Edwards Jr. (5) dribbles against Clemson Tigers guard Jake Heidbreder (3) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Clemson 74-64.
Jan 7, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Terrence Edwards Jr. (5) dribbles against Clemson Tigers guard Jake Heidbreder (3) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Clemson 74-64. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
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Louisville Cardinals (12-5, 5-1 ACC) at Syracuse Orange (8-8, 2-3 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, January 14 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -6.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 19-14
- Last Meeting: Syracuse won 82-76 on Mar. 2, 2024 (Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

  • G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
  • G Reyne Smith (6-2, 190, Sr.)
  • G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
  • G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
  • C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Syracuse

  • G JJ Starling (6-4, 206, Jr.)
  • G Elijah Moore (6-4, 176, Fr.)
  • G Lucas Taylor (6-5, 200, Sr.)
  • F Jyare Davis (6-7, 220, Sr.)
  • C Eddie Lampkin Jr. (6-11, 265, Gr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Orange, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Syracuse

Additional Coverage

Game Notes

Louisville

  • Four of Louisville’s five losses have all come to teams now ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 3 Duke (14-2), No. 6 Tennessee (15-1), No. 8 Kentucky (13-3), and No. 21 Ole Miss (14-2). As of Jan. 13, those teams, along with [RV] Oklahoma (13-3) are a combined 69-11.
  • Against Clemson on Jan. 7, J’Vonne Hadley scored 32 points, the most by any player in an ACC game up to that point in the season.
  • Against North Carolina on Jan. 1, Chucky Hepburn made 16 free throws, tying the program record for free throws made in a single game.
  • Louisville played five ranked opponents before the New Year. The Cardinals have the 12th best strength of schedule according to KenPom as of Jan. 9.
  • As of Jan.12, Louisville is ninth in the country in 3-point attempts per game (31.1).
  • As of Jan. 12, Chucky Hepburn is 10th in the country in steals per game at 2.65 and seventh in total steals with 45. Reyne Smith is third in the country in total 3-pointers made (61), fifth in total 3-point attempts (156) and sixth in 3-pointers per game (3.59).
  • Sophomore forward James Scott is fifth in the country in dunks as of Jan. 12 with 36 makes on the year, according to Bart Torvik. He leads the ACC in that category and is five dunks away from cracking Louisville’s top-15 dunks in a season list.
  • Senior guard Reyne Smith was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 23 for his 27-point performance at Florida State. It was just the third time in the program’s 11 years in the ACC that Louisville has had multiple ACC Player of the Week awards as Chucky Hepburn also earned that title on Dec. 2.
  • Against Florida State on Dec. 21, Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. both logged eight assists apiece; it was the first Louisville game to have two Cardinals log at least eight assists each in the same game since Peyton Siva and Gorgui Deng both had eight against Syracuse in the 2013 Big East Tournament championship game
  • Louisville’s 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis was Louisville’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 19/20 Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the highest ranked opponent the Cards have beat since beating No. 3 Duke 79-73 on Jan. 18, 2020.
  • The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster. The Cards have 12 players designated as seniors this season, tied with Western Kentucky for the most on any team in men’s DI college basketball.
  • Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list.
  • Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.

Syracuse

  • Syracuse has won two of its last three, a run that coincides with J.J. Starling returning from an injury.
  • Starling has posted 21 and 26 points the last two times out. Both games resulted in Syracuse victories.
  • Graduate center Eddie Lampkin is averaging 9.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game over the last six matchups.
  • Redshirt junior guard Kyle Cuffe has emerged as a key contributor off the bench. He’s averaging 8.8 points over the last six contests.
  • Syracuse top scorer J.J. Starling (19.0 ppg.) has scored double-digit points in all nine appearances this season.
  • Eddie Lampkin posted his fifth double-double Saturday (10 points-13 rebounds).
  • Syracuse earned its 2,000* program victory by beating Georgia Tech. Only seven Division I schools have 2,000 wins.
  • Jan. 11: J.J. Starling scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and Syracuse rallied from an eight-point deficit to beat Boston College, 79-71. Lucas Taylor, who made four free throws in the final 25 seconds to secure the win, added 15 points and Eddie Lampkin had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
  • Jan. 7: J.J. Starling had 21 points and Eddie Lampkin posted 10 points and 12 boards in a 62-55 win versus Georgia Tech. Chris Bell (13 points) and Lucas Taylor (10 points) rounded out Syracuse’s double-digit scorers versus Georgia Tech. The Orange had a 48-39 rebound advantage against the Yellow Jackets.
  • Jan. 4: Donnie Freeman had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Orange had five players in double-figure points but Florida State prevailed, 90-76. Chris Bell had 18 points and J.J. Starling had 12 in his return from injury.

(Photo of Terrence Edwards Jr.: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic