Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes (18-7, 10-4 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (11-13, 5-9 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, February 16th at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: Bally Sports South
- How To Listen: WKRD 790 AM
- Betting Favorite: Miami -2.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 13-5
- Last Meeting: Miami won 78-72 on Jan. 16, 2021 (Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

F Dre Davis (6-6, 210, So.)
F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-8, 225, R-So.)
C Sydney Curry (6-8, 270, Jr.)
G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Jr.)
G Jarrod West (5-11, 185, Gr.)

Miami

F Sam Waardenburg (6-10, 225, R-Sr.)
G Isaiah Wong (6-3, 185, So.)
G Charlie Moore (5-11, 180, R-Sr.)
G Jordan Miller (6-7, 195, Jr.)
G Kameron McGusty (6-5, 190, R-Sr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

Louisville fell 63-57 at ACC co-leader Notre Dame on Feb. 9 as Jae’Lyn Withers led the Cardinals with 20 points and three steals, tying his career scoring high. UofL fought back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead with 6:14 remaining, but Notre Dame pulled away as the Cards made just one of their last nine field goal attempts.
Jae’Lyn Withers has averaged 9.7 points and 4.4 rebounds over the last seven games while shooting 50 percent from the field (27- 54), scoring in double figures in four of those seven (three straight; averaging 15.0 ppg in the last three). He tied his career scoring high of 20 points against Notre Dame. He averaged 4.2 points in the first 17 games of the season.
El Ellis has scored in double figures in the last four games, including a career-high 25 vs. North Carolina. He is averaging 11.3 points per game over the last 11 games -- tops for the Cardinals in that stretch while hitting 21-of-51 threes (.412), including 16.5 ppg in the last four.
Jarrod West needs two assists for 500 in his career. West is fourth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio (2.39) and is third in the nation in career steals among active players with 286.
Louisville has averaged just 9.8 turnovers over its last seven games. The Cardinals have committed single-digit turnovers in four of its last six games, and five of the last eight, including nine turnovers at Notre Dame.
Louisville has averaged 28.6 points per game from its bench this season. The Cardinals have had 29 double-figure scoring efforts off the bench. Louisville’s bench has contributed 30 or more bench points on 12 occasions this season (last: 36-14 bench scoring advantage at Syracuse). The Cards are 14th in the nation in bench minutes (42.5 percent).
Sydney Curry has scored 67 points in his last eight games after combining for 33 points over his first 12 games this season. He is averaging 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds over his last eight games.
Louisville grabbed 11 offensive rebounds at Notre Dame, its fourth straight game and 11th this season with at least 10
Louisville used its 12th different starting lineup at Notre Dame
Louisville’s leading scorer has come from the bench 11 times this season, including five of the last six games
Opponents have shot nearly 10 percentage points higher against the Cardinals in their 13 losses (.470) than in their 11 victories (.372)
Louisville made 10 three-pointers at Syracuse, its 11th game this season and fifth straight with at least eight made threes. The Cardinals made a season-high 15 three-pointers against North Carolina three games ago, its most in eight years and a span of 257 games (five at Notre Dame in its last game). UofL made a high of eight threes in a game on three occasions last year.
Matt Cross produced his first career double-double against North Carolina with 13 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Cross knocked down 3-of-5 three-pointers, his sixth game this season with multiple threes. It was his ninth game in double figures, but went scoreless in his last two games.
Noah Locke has scored in double figures 14 times this season and eight times in the last 14 games. Locke has made multiple three-pointers in 10 of the last 14 games and at least three of them in 11 games this season. Locke has made 40 percent of his three-point field goals in ACC games (32-of-80), but has made 7-of-30 threes over the last five games (.233)
Samuell Williamson scored 10 points at Syracuse, his first game in double figures since Florida State on Jan. 8.

Miami

Miami snapped an 18-game skid against ranked teams when it beat No. 16/18 Louisville, 78-72, on 1/16/21. The Hurricanes led by as many as 15 points and for over 35 minutes. Isaiah Wong set career highs in points (30), made field goals (12) and assists (six), adding seven rebounds. He became the fifth 30-point scorer in Jim Larrañaga’s Miami tenure and the second ACC player in the span of a decade (2011-12 to 2020-21) with 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers in a game, alongside Marcus Paige on 1/14/16. Miami also got 16 points from Matt Cross, who now plays for Louisville, on 4-of-6 3-point shooting and a 4-of-4 clip at the line.
With the win over Georgia Tech, Jim Larrañaga became the 14th head coach to register 100 ACC regular season victories. Coach L now has triple-digit conference wins in three different DI leagues and at three different DI schools, making him the first head coach in NCAA history to achieve either of those feats. Larrañaga won 101 MAC contests at Bowling Green from 1986-97 and 165 CAA affairs at George Mason from 1997-2011.
Miami has forced 348 turnovers and committed just 241, good for a +4.28 margin to lead the ACC. Only thrice have the Hurricanes logged more turnovers than their foe and they own a 415-231 edge in points off turnovers, a +7.36 margin. Miami is sixth nationally in offensive turnover percentage (14.2), per KenPom. After logging 14-plus steals twice in its first 296 ACC games as a program, it did so back-to-back against Syracuse (14) and Duke (15).
After winning Saturday at Wake Forest, Louisville is now the one (1) ACC team Jim Larrañaga has not beat on the road.
The Hurricanes logged a staggering 19-0 margin in points off 19 turnovers in Saturday’s 76-72 win at RV/No. 25 Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes logged a staggering 19-0 margin in points off 19 turnovers in Saturday’s 76-72 win at RV/No. 25 Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes are 17-1 on the season when scoring 65-plus points and have won 16 such games in a row.
After going 43-69 (.384) in ACC play from 2004-11, Miami is 101-94 (.518) in Jim Larrañaga’s 11 seasons, good for the 101 fifth-most ACC wins of any team in the league over that span.
Miami has posted 10-plus steals in eight of its last 11 games, 113 tallying 113 total, en route to forcing 164 total turnovers.
Through 25 games, the Hurricanes have made 338 free throws, two more than their foes have even attempted.
Sporting a 688-471 career record, Jim Larrañaga is ninth in victories among active DI coaches and No. 33 all-time (min. 688 10 years at DI school).

(Photo of Samuell Williamson: Jasen Vinlove - USA TODAY Sports)

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