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Know Your Enemy: Previewing Louisville Basketball With Sam Draut

Get an insider perspective for this week's game against the Cardinals
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The Boston College Eagles face off with the Louisville Cardinals in Conte Forum. To help prepare for the game we talked to SI's Louisville Maven editor Sam Draut to get his perspective on the team and the 2019-20 season . Follow Sam on Twitter for all your Louisville news and opinion.

AJ Black: It has been an incredible year so far for Louisville who sit at 17-3. Make a case for the Cardinals being the best team in the ACC.

Sam Draut: Louisville is one of the teams in the top tier of the ACC this season. Jordan Nwora has been one of the best players in the conference and Louisville ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37.0 percent). Louisville is 8-1 in the ACC, its best start in the six years in the conference.

Black: The Cardinals have jumped from the middle of the pack to the top of the conference in a year. What impact has Chris Mack made in his first two years as head of the program?

Draut: Chris Mack has helped reenergize a program that was trying to move away from the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, FBI investigations and NCAA sanctions. Mack has added stability to the program after David Padgett led the program for a season as the interim head coach. Mack signed a six-member 2019 recruiting class that ranked in the top-10 nationally to help fill the roster.

Black: Jordan Nwora continues to be one of the best forwards in the ACC, if not the country. What makes him so dangerous?

Draut: The 6-foot-8 forward is a dangerous perimeter scorer with length and size to shooter over defenders. He is second in the ACC in scoring (18.7 points per game) and his 373 points scored this season is the third-most by a Cardinal through 20 games over the last 20 seasons. He has made 17 of 33 shots from behind the arc in his last seven games.

Black:  The X factor for the Cardinals is __________________

Draut: Consistent energy. Louisville has looked good and bad during games. The Cardinals have been plagued by slow starts in the first or second half several times in recent weeks. Louisville can be a great team when it avoids lulls offensively. Louisville is one of fives teams in the nation ranked in the top 20 of both defensive efficiency (16th) and offensive efficiency (17th) in KenPom statistical rankings.

Black: Boston College will win on Wednesday if _________________

Draut: The Eagles disrupt Louisville’s offense. Louisville has made nine or more 3-pointers in 11 games this season, ranking 18th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.2 percent). If the Eagles slow down Louisville’s perimeter scoring, Steven Enoch and Malik Williams will become a bigger part of the Cardinals’ offense in the low post.

Black: Louisville will win on Wednesday if ________________________

Draut: The Cardinals come out focused. Louisville had a disinterested performance in a 66-59 loss to Boston College in February last season and have struggled with slow starts this season. Louisville’s bench has averaged 34.3 points over the last three games, so involving a variety of players in Louisville’s rotation help to demand more from opponents’ defenses.