Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. NC State
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following their first ACC loss of the season down at Florida State to snap a three-game win streak, the Louisville men's basketball program is returning home to the KFC Yum! Center in hopes of getting back int he right direction, taking on NC State for a rematch of their conference opener.
Here are a few of the more significant storylines to follow ahead of the Cardinals' matchup against the Wolfpack:
Midseason Slide
Heading into their first game with Louisville, NC State had a respectable record on the year. They entered that game at 6-1 on the year, with their lone loss coming to Oklahoma State on a neutral floor. The program, however, was that just one of those six wins came against a program in the KenPom top 100.
Since kicking off ACC play, as well as playing a few more noteworthy non-conference opponents, the Wolfpack has been in a freefall. They have won just one of their last seven games, including a five-game losing streak not long after facing Louisville, including at home to Wright State.
They were able to snap that losing streak with a solid win on the road against an up-and-down Virginia Tech, but then immediately followed that up by falling at home to Clemson in their most recent time out.
Bullish Offense, Bearish Defense
While the transition to ACC play has impacted the numbers a bit, NC State still has one of the better offenses in the league.
Their 76.1 points per game is still good for sixth in the ACC, the 12.81 offensive boards per game still leads the league, both their total free throw attempts (352) and makes (252) are in the top eight nationally, and turnovers have actually gone down to just 10.4 per game. The shooting is still
On the flip side, the Wolfpack's defense has been abysmal as of late. Since playing Louisville, NC State has allowed their opponents to shoot 48.8 percent from the field and 35.5 percent on three point attempts. During that five-game skid, they gave up at least 82 points every time, including to Wright State.
Still the Seabron Show
Just like the first time around, the star of the show for the Pack is still Dereon Seabron.
Against Louisville, the small forward had trouble finding the bottom of the net. He was held to a modest 11 points on just 4-14 shooting, which is something to be said considering he came into that came averaging north of 20 points per game and had just dropped a career-high 39 against Nebraska.
If you were hoping that would have kickstarted a cold streak for him ahead of the rematch with the Cardinals, well, sorry about your luck. Seabron did match his season-low 10 points in the Wright State loss, but also had three 20-point games, as well as a 32-point performance against Florida State.
Guys like Jericole Hellems and Terquavion Smith - who average 14.7 and 14.6 points per game, respectively - are still extremely viable scoring threats for the Wolfpack. But if Louisville wants to go for the season sweep, it'll start with shutting down Seabron.
(Photo of El Ellis: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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