Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Boston College Eagles

Louisville Cardinals (4-27, 2-18 ACC) vs. Boston College Eagles (15-16, 9-11 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, March 7 at 4:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Boston College: -6.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 10-5
- Last Meeting: Boston College won 75-65 on Jan. 25, 2023 (Silvio O. Conte Forum - Chestnut Hill, Mass.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Sr.)
G/F Mike James (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)
F J.J. Traynor (6-8, 190, Jr.)
F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-9, 220, R-Jr.)
F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 250, So.)

Boston College

G Makai Ashton-Langford (6-3, 180, Gr.)
G Jaeden Zackery (6-2, 215, So.)
F C.J. Penha Jr. (6-7, 230, Gr.)
F T.J. Bickerstaff (6-9, 220, Sr.)
F Quinten Post (7-10, 250, Sr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Eagles, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Boston College

Game Notes

Louisville

Since joining Conference USA in 1995-96, Louisville is 17-8 in its first conference tournament game across C-USA, the Big East, the American and the ACC. The Cardinals are 5-2 in first-round conference tournament games since 1996. They’ve only played one first-round game in the ACC Tournament, which they won last year against Georgia Tech. Louisville is 3-6 overall in the ACC Tournament since joining the league.
Senior guard El Ellis is averaging 20.9 points per game over the last seven games while shooting 48% from the field, 35% from 3 and 87% from the free-throw line. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 17 of the last 22 games. In his last 17 games since 2023 began, he has 77 assists against just 52 turnovers.
Over the last six games, junior forward JJ Traynor is averaging 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while making 8 of 14 shots from 3-point range. Traynor has made more than three times as many 3s this season (22) as he did in his first two seasons combined (7). He scored a career-high 16 points in back-to-back games against Clemson and Duke.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James ranks fourth in the ACC among freshmen in scoring at 10.1 points per game. Over the last 17 games, James is averaging 12.8 points and has increased his volume to 9.3 shots per game.
Louisville started the game at Duke on Feb. 20 with an 18-9 lead, marking the eighth loss for the Cardinals this season in which they’ve led by at least eight points at one time, including six times in ACC play.
Last game: Louisville fell 75-60 at Virginia in their regular season finale.
KEY FIRST HALF RUN: An early 13-2 run by the Cavaliers put them ahead of the Cardinals 26-10 with 6:11 to go in the first half. The Cards fought back with an immediate 8-3 run that spanned 3:56 and included a Mike James triple, but it still wasn’t enough to cut into a 16-point Cavalier lead at the half.
KEY SECOND HALF RUN: The Cardinals came out of the locker room on a 7-2 run that spanned 2:25 to start the second half and cut the lead to 14 points with 15:45 to go. Despite another 7-2 run from the Cardinals to cut the deficit to 13 late in the game, Virginia responded with some key shots to keep the game out of reach.
UofL shot 20 of 46 (.435) from the field, 4 of 15 (.267) from 3-point range, and 16 of 20 (.800) from the free-throw line.
Mike James tied his career high with 24 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field, 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line. James scored Louisville’s last 15 points of the game. James added three rebounds, one block, and one steal in 37 minutes of play.
El Ellis tallied 14 points on 3 of 12 shooting from the floor, 2 of 7 from the three-point line and 6 of 8 from the free throw line in what could be his final regular season collegiate basketball game. Ellis has only missed four free throws since the game against Florida State on Feb. 4, shooting 35 of 39 (89.7%) from the line. The guard also pulled down two rebounds, recorded two steals, and a team-high two assists in 37 minutes of action. Ellis has scored in double figures in 27 of the Cardinals’ 31 games this season.
J.J. Traynor scored eight points on 4 of 7 shooting from the floor. Traynor added in four rebounds and a single block through 32 minutes of play. The forward added a dunk against the Cavaliers and still accounts for over half of the Cardinals’ dunks this season.

Boston College

In 29 games in ACC Tournament play, Boston College is 12-17. Last season, BC advanced to the quarterfinals in Brooklyn. The Eagles earned a 66-46 win over Pitt in the first round before an 82-77 overtime win over Wake Forest in the second round. BC lost on a buzzer beater in overtime to Miami, 71-69 in the quarters. BC also advanced to the 2018 ACC quarterfinals in Brooklyn. In 2006, BC advanced to the ACC title game in Greensboro. That season - the school’s first-ever ACC Tourney - BC downed Maryland (80-66) and North Carolina (85-82) before falling in the championship game to Duke (78-76).
Makai Ashton-Langford is 37-for-37 from the free throw line in the second half of ACC games this season.
Prince Aligbe has 10 games with 6+ rebounds; Boston College is 8-2 in those games, including a 7-2 record in ACC contests.
Quinten Post has emerged as one of the top big men in the country. Post is slightly under the 50/40/90 line for the season: 53.8% field goals; 44.0% 3-pointers; 85.4% free throws. He is the only player nationally posting those percentages (min. 10.0 ppg) in 2022-23.
Makai Ashton-Langford and Jaeden Zackery are the only duo in the ACC to average better than 1.40 steals per game. Ashton-Langford ranked fifth in the ACC (1.55 spg) while Zackery was seventh (1.42). In league play, the backcourt duo were fourth (1.55 spg) and seventh (1.40), respectively.
Boston College held #6/6 Virginia to 48 points on Feb. 22 and #20/23 Clemson to 54 points on Jan. 31. It ranks tied for the first and fifth-lowest point totals by a ranked opponent in the shot clock era, respectively.
Quinten Post (16.3 ppg), Makai Ashton-Langford (11.9), and Jaeden Zackery (10.6) are averaging nearly a combined 40.0 points over the last 14 games for Boston College. That accounts for nearly 60% of the Eagles’ scoring during that span.
In ACC play, Boston College is averaging 13.9 trips to the free throw line, while opponents are getting to the line 15.5 times.
Over his last 12 games, Mason Madsen is averaging 6.4 points off the bench, while connecting nearly 36% from the perimeter. The junior guard has made 19 of his last 53 3-point attempts.
Among ACC freshmen who have come off the bench in 75% of their games, Devin McGlockton ranks second in the league in scoring (6.0) and third in rebounds (4.0). The 6-7 forward earned his first start of the season on Jan. 31 against Clemson.
Boston College saw its 420-game streak with at least one made 3-pointer end on Jan. 17 at North Carolina. The very next game, BC connected on a then season-best 11 3-pointers, going 11-of-19 at Notre Dame on Jan. 21.
Boston College is averaging 15.2 assists, with an assist/turnover mark of 1.14:1 over its last 12 games. The Eagles have an assist percentage of 61.1% over those games - logging 182 assists on 298 made field goals.
Despite being a freshman, Prince Aligbe does not shy away from big moments in his first season with the Eagles. Aligbe scored eight of his 10 points in the second half of the win over #22/23 Clemson. He scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half vs. ND on Jan. 3, including a jumper with 2:32 left, making it 61-60.
In six of Boston College’s 15 wins, the Eagles have trailed or been tied at some point during the final 4:00 of regulation.

(Photo of J.J. Traynor: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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