Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. DePaul

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After taking down NC State in their ACC opener thanks in part to some clutch three-pointers, the Louisville men's basketball program is returning home to take on DePaul.

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

A New Era

When most Louisville fans think of DePaul, they will automatically assume that another easy win is store for the Cardinals, and it's hard to blame them. Louisville is currently on a 10-game win streak against DePaul, and have won 23 of the last 25 matchups from their time as conference mates in Conference USA and the old Big East.

But victory shouldn't come so easy against this Blue Demons squad. Operating under first year head coach Tony Stubblefield, DePaul has looked impressive to start the 2021-22 season. They currently sport a 7-1 record, and have the tenth-highest scoring offense in D1 at 85.3 points per game.

Of course, this does come with a bit of a caveat. Six of their seven wins came against teams ranked outside of KenPom's top 150 - with lone exception being 99th-ranked Rutgers - all all eight games have been at home. However, they were competitive against a top 30 Loyola Chicago team, losing by just four, so they do have potential against quality opponents.

Let Freedom-Liberty Ring

As you can imagine with a team that averages well north of 80 points per game, there are a plethora of scoring options. Forward David Jones averages 15.8 points and 75 rebounds per game, forward Brandon Johnson is at 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, and center Nick Ongenda puts up 11.8 points and 1.9 blocks.

But, like in their game against NC State, Louisville will be facing someone who leads their team in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game.

6-foot-4, 180-pound guard Javon Freeman-Liberty is a certified playmaker. He might not average a double-double like Dereon Seabron did for NC State, but 21.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game is still an insane stat line. Louisville was able to "hold" Seabron to 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists and no steals, so we'll see if the Cardinals can replicate that type of success in back-to-back games.

Keeping it Inside

Through this point of the season, both Louisville and DePaul run very fast paced offenses. The Cardinals may rank 38th in offensive tempo, but the Blue Demons are all the way up to 22nd. No matter who has the ball, expect this to be a high-scoring affair with the ball always hurrying to get in the halfcourt.

Now, where these two offenses differ drastically is in their shot selection. According to KenPom, only 32.1 percent of DePaul's shots come on three-point attempts - the 294th-lowest mark in D1. Considering the Blue Demons are shooting 55.9 percent inside the arc, which is good for 33rd in the nation, it makes sense why they would want up threes.

Oddly enough, DePaul, for being a high scoring team, also doesn't have a ton of ball movement. Only 41.5 percent of their made field goals come off assists, which is just 320th in the nation.

(Photo of Jarrod West: Michael Clevenger - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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