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Chris Mack Pre-Clemson Press Conference (1/26/21)

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Clemson Tigers

Louisville hits the road for a game that was rescheduled just two days ago.
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(Photo of David Johnson: Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports)

No. 25 Louisville Cardinals (10-3, 5-2 ACC) at Clemson Tigers (9-4, 3-4 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, January 27th at 9:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C.
- How To Watch: RSN (Fox Sports South in Louisville)
- How To Listen: WKRD 790/WHAS 840
- Betting Favorite: Clemson -1.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 7-3
- Last Meeting: Clemson won 77-62 on Feb. 15, 2020 (Littlejohn Coliseum - Clemson, S.C.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

  • F Quinn Slazinski (6-8, 215, So.)
  • F Dre Davis (6-5, 220, Fr.)
  • C Jae'Lyn Withers (6-8, 215, R-Fr.)
  • G Carlik Jones (6-2, 185, Gr.)
  • G David Johnson (6-5, 210, So.)

Clemson

  • F Jonathan Baehre (6-10, 214, Sr.)
  • F Aamir Simms (6-8.5, 245, Sr.)
  • G Clyde Trapp (6-4, 203, Sr.)
  • G Al-Amir Dawes (6-2, 180, So.)
  • G John Newman III (6-5, 207, Jr.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with Clemson: Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Clemson

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Tigers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. Duke

Game Notes

Louisville

  • Louisville (10-3, 5-2 ACC) will play its fifth ACC road game of the season as the Cardinals visit the Clemson Tigers in Clemson, S.C. on Wednesday. The game was originally scheduled for March 3, but was moved to Wednesday when Clemson’s game against Boston College was postponed.
  • Louisville won for the sixth time in its last eight games as the Cardinals beat Duke 70-65 in the KFC Yum! Center last Saturday as UofL held a 34-26 rebounding advantage. Carlik Jones led the Cards with 24 points (19 in the second half), five assists and two steals, and scored Louisville’s final nine points of the game.
  • Louisville’s 31 ACC road wins in its seventh year in the league is the fourth-most in the ACC in that period. Louisville and Virginia are the only teams with three ACC road wins this season.
  • Carlik Jones ranks third in the ACC in scoring (18.4 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg). Jones has 95 career double-figure scoring efforts, including the last 35 consecutive games (all 12 this year). His 24 points, five assists and two steals against Duke last Saturday marked the 30th game of his collegiate career with 20 or more points (four of the last six). He needs 27 points for 1,800 in his career. Jones has collected 13 steals in the last five games. In the last four games, he has averaged 22.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
  • David Johnson is the only player in the ACC among the top 20 in both rebounding (6.0, 19th in ACC) and assists (3.9, eighth in the ACC), adding 13.0 points per game. He has made 16-of-33 three-pointers in his last seven games (.484) and has made a team-leading 23-of-54 threes on the season (.426). He made just five threes as a freshman.
  • Jae’Lyn Withers has made 71.8 percent of his shots over his last six games (28-of-39). He has produced double-doubles in two of his last five games. He is the Cardinals’ rebounding leader and ranks second among ACC freshman (7.3 rpg, eighth in the ACC), averaging 10.7 points while shooting a team-best 63.6 percent from the field.
  • UofL has started with a 10-3 record or better for each of the last 11 years. The Cards have opened with a 5-2 or better conference record for the ninth time in the last 11 years, with the two exceptions being its 2012 Final Four (3-4) and 2013 National Championship (4-3) seasons (later vacated).
  • Louisville has won the rebounding battle in eight games this year, including five ACC games. Louisville is 8-0 in games when out-rebounding its opponent, including a 34-26 margin over Duke in its last game. UofL’s +6.3 rebounding advantage in conference games is second in the ACC and its +5.4 margin on the season is third in the ACC. Louisville produced double-digit rebounding margins in its first two ACC games vs. Pitt and Boston College. The Cardinals tied a much taller Florida State team 35-35, and Miami is the only ACC team to beat UofL on the boards. Louisville has faced three of the nation’s five tallest teams in the KenPom analytics this season, winning two of those three matchups (beat 3 Seton Hall and 5 Kentucky, lost to 2 Florida State).
  • Louisville is among the top defensive teams in the ACC, ranking third in the ACC in scoring defense (65.5 ppg), third in three-point field goal defense (.322) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (.412). UofL held Duke to its season-low scoring total in the last game. The Cardinals held Boston College (.333) and Wake Forest (.368) to a season-low field goal percentage, marking six times this season UofL has limited its opponent to below 40 percent accuracy from the field (four under 35 percent). However, UofL’s last three opponents have shot three of the top four percentages against UofL this season (Miami .492, Florida State .500, Duke .463).
  • The Cardinals limited Kentucky to a season-low in scoring (59 points) and field goal percentage (.345). Louisville limited Pitt to a season-low 54 points, marking the 11th time the Cardinals have held an ACC opponent under 60 points in Coach Chris Mack’s third season (UofL is 10-1 in those games).
  • After a three-game stretch in which the Cardinals made 21-of-49 three-pointers (.428), Louisville has followed with making 13-of-52 threes in its last three games (.250). The Cardinals rank 38th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom analytics. Louisville’s 46.9 field goal percentage is fifth in the ACC (59th in the nation). Louisville has shot 50 percent or better in seven halves this season, including 53.1 percent in the second half at Miami. After scoring just 21 points in the first half at Miami, the Cardinals scored a season-best 51 points in the second half, but conversely gave up a season-high 45 points in the half.
  • Dre Davis scored 11 points against Duke, his sixth double-figure scoring effort of the season and third in the last four games. He was named the ACC Freshman of the Week for games Nov. 30- Dec. 6. In the Cardinals’ only game of the week, Davis scored 21 points in UofL’s 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky, adding two rebounds and two assists while connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field. His 21 points are the most by a UofL freshman since V.J. King scored 24 at Virginia in 2017.
  • Louisville is No. 16 in the RPI, No. 29 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 37 by KenPom, No. 42 in the NCAA NET and No. 51 in ESPN’s College BPI through Jan. 24.

Clemson

  • Aamir Simms posted his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season with 19 points at Georgia Tech (Jan. 20). Simms finished an efficient 9-of-14 from the field. He also has two 20-point outings this season.
  • Nick Honor scored a season-high 21 points (8-11 FG; 5-6 3FG) in an overtime win against NC State (Jan. 5). Honor is one-of-nine nationally (three in Power 5), to shoot 44.0+ percent (FG), 42.5+ percent (3FG - min. 50 attempts) and garner 20+ steals.
  • Clemson knocked off a nationally ranked FSU squad (Dec. 29) for the second consecutive matchup in the series. Interestingly enough, they trailed at halftime of both contests.
  • “We Too Deep”: Clemson will look to use as many as 12 players in most games as it attempts to utilize its depth as one of its main strengths this season. The Tigers’ bench has produced 25+ points in 10-of-13 games. Clemson has also had as many as 14 different scorers this season with seven averaging over 5.0 points per game.
  • A key word in the program under Brownell is “Sacrifice,” and that has certainly been emphasized this season.
  • Clemson stopped Alabama on 10-of-its-last-11 possessions and won the Holiday Hoopsgiving tilt with its defense. The Tigers finished on a 10-1 run in the 64-56 victory (Dec. 12).
  • Aamir Simms earned Tournament MVP honors after scoring a game-high 24 points (8-13 FG) in the championship game against Purdue (11/26). Nick Honor also received All-Tournament Team recognition.
  • Simms was named to the Karl Malone Watch List (Top 20 PF in the country) and became the first Tiger to earn recognition from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s preseason award watch lists.
  • Clemson boasted a Top-20 recruiting class in the country for 2020 with the additions of PJ Hall, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Lynn Kidd. It marked the program’s highest recruiting ranking since 2009, according to 247Sports.
  • Clemson was ranked No. 12 in AP Poll (Jan. 11) - the highest among ACC teams at the time. It is the first time that has happened since Jan. 21, 1997 when the Tigers were ranked No. 2 and just the second time in poll history (poll dates to 1950).
  • Clemson’s defense this season has been otherworldly as they utilize their depth to pick teams up in the full court. Head Coach Brad Brownell is known for his meticulous tactics defensively, and it’s a reason why of all full seasons played during the ACC Era, Brownell’s teams are prevalent. Seven of his teams are in the Top 10 in Clemson history when it comes to scoring defense. Nine of his 10 full seasons are in the Top 20 in Clemson history.
  • Clemson won the rebounding battle with Florida State (Dec. 29) by 14 (49-35). The 49 total rebounds were the most since 50 against Auburn on March 18, 2018 in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Garnering 19 offensive rebounds was the most for a Tiger team since Dec. 13, 2016 against SC State. Clemson grabbed 23 offensive rebounds. It was the most offensive rebounds in an ACC game since March 7, 2015 at Notre Dame. The Tigers produced 19 on the offensive glass.

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