Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. North Carolina

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In their first game since mutually parting ways with head coach Chris Mack, the Louisville men's basketball scratched and clawed back from an early hole, but faltered down the stretch against No. 9 Duke on Saturday.

Next up for the Cardinals (11-10, 5-6 ACC), they will stay home at the KFC Yum! Center to host North Carolina (15-6, 7-3). Tip-off is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Here are a few of the more significant storylines to follow ahead of the Cardinals' matchup against the Tar Heels:

There's No Place Like Home

It has been a bit of an up and down year in the first season of the Hubert Davis era, but it has largely been a successful one. The Tar Heels have solid wins over Michigan and Virginia Tech - despite both programs having underwhelming seasons - and three of their six losses have come against teams ranked in KenPom's top 15.

But there has been a very noticeable trend emerge this season, one that very well could play into Louisville's hands.

When playing at home in Chapel Hill, UNC is damn near unstoppable. The Heels are a perfect 12-0 at the Dean Dome, and are coming off of a 20-point dismantling of NC State in which they put up 100 points.

Away from their home floor, and the Heels are a completely different team. North Carolina is 0-3 in neutral court games, and just 3-3 in true road games. They have just two road wins in ACC play, coming against Georgia Tech and Boston College - two teams that KenPom ranks even lower than Louisville.

Their road woes have been especially noteworthy in the last two weeks. Facing Miami and Wake Forest in their last two roads games, two middle- to upper-tier ACC squads, UNC lost both by a combined 50 points.

Points, Points, Points

North Carolina's 100-point performance against NC State was by no means an anomaly.

So far this season, the Tar Heels have had four games in which they've scored 90 or more points, and eight where they cracked the 80-point threshold. Scoring is the name of the game for UNC, as their 78.0 points per game comes in at 41st in Division 1 and third in the ACC.

While the Heels aren't great at shooting inside the arc, connecting on just 49.5 percent of their two-point shots, they are elite at hitting the long ball. North Carolina is shooting 38.1 percent on their three-point attempts, which 19th in the nation.

The issue is, they're giving up nearly as many points on the other end of the floor.

UNC's scoring defense is 246th in the nation and third-to-last in the ACC, as the Heels allow 71.5 points per game. Their opponents are shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 33.2 percent on threes, both of which rank outside the top 170 in D1.

The worst aspect of North Carolina's defense is that they force an insanely low amount of turnovers. They generate just 9.4 per game, and have the fourth-worst defensive turnover percentage (13.2) in the nation, according to KenPom.

Board Man Gets Paid, Assist Man Gets Commission

Part of what makes North Carolina such a tough matchup is their one-two punch in Armando Bacot and Caleb Love. Sure, R.J. Davis and Brady Manek both average double-figures in scoring as well, but Bacot and Love are the straw that stirs the drink.

First of all, Bacot is an absolute fiend on the glass. He averages 12.1 rebounds per game and 8.43 on the defensive side, which ranks 3rd and 4th, respectively, in D1. Oh, and he happens to be UNC's leading scorer at 16.3 points per game. In fact, his 16 double-double trails just Utah Valley's Fardaws Aimaq in all of D1.

Love is no slouch, either. Not only is he right behind Bacot in scoring on the team at 15.3 points per game, he is the perfect compliment to him. Love is 11th in the ACC in assists per game at 3.4, and his three-point shooting percentage leads the Heels at 43.2 percent. In fact, it's better that his shooting percentage on two-pointers at 37.8 percent.

(Photo of Malik Williams: Jeremy Brevard - USA TODAY Sports)

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