Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Boston College Eagles

Louisville Cardinals (16-6, 9-2 ACC) at Boston College Eagles (10-11, 2-8 ACC)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -13.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 10-8
- Last Meeting: Boston College won 67-61 on Mar. 9, 2024 (Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
G Reyne Smith (6-2, 190, Sr.)
G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Boston College

Joshua Beadle (6-3, 180, Gr.)
Dion Brown (6-3, 180, Jr.)
Roger McFarlane (6-4, 215, Gr.)
Donald Hand Jr. (6-5, 210, So.)
Chad Venning (6-9, 270, Gr.)

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

Additional Coverage

Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey Previews Boston College

Game Notes

Louisville

Louisville’s 10-game winning streak was the longest winning streak since the Cardinals won 10 in a row between Jan. 7 and Feb. 8, 2020.
Four of Louisville’s six losses have all come to teams now ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 2 Duke (19-2), No. 4 Tennessee (18-4), No. 14 Kentucky (15-6), and No. 25 Ole Miss (16-6). As of Feb. 4, those teams, along with Oklahoma (16-5) are a combined 84-23.
At SMU on Jan. 21, Chucky Hepburn broke the UofL single game assists record with 16. Reyne Smith broke the program’s single game made 3’s record with 10. Louisville became the only DI team this century to have a player with 10+ 3’s and 15+ assists in the same game. The Last NBA team to do it was the Warriors with Klay Thompson (10 3PM) and Steph Curry (15 AST) on Nov. 20, 2022.
Against North Carolina on Jan. 1, Chucky Hepburn made 16 free throws, tying the program record for free throws made in a single game.
Louisville played five ranked opponents by Dec. 14. The Cardinals have the 18th best strength of schedule according to KenPom as of Feb. 4.
As of Feb. 4, Louisville is fourth in the country in 3-point attempts per game (31.0).
As of Feb. 4, Chucky Hepburn is 12th in the country in assists per game (6.4) and 14th total assists (140). He’s also 12th in total steals (53) and 13th in steals per game (2.41). Reyne Smith is third in the country in 3’s per game (3.77) and second in total 3-pointers (83). He’s sixth in total 3-point attempts (206).
Sophomore forward James Scott is second in the country in dunks as of Feb. 4 with 50 makes on the year, according to Bart Torvik. He leads the ACC in that category and is now seventh on Louisville’s dunks in a single season list.
Senior guard Reyne Smith was named ACC Player of the Week on Dec. 23 for his 27-point performance at Florida State. It was just the third time in the program’s 11 years in the ACC that Louisville has had multiple ACC Player of the Week awards as Chucky Hepburn also earned that title on Dec. 2.
UofL has a 258-83 record (.757) against non-conference opponents over the last 24 seasons (includes postseason), including a 188-27 record in home regular season non-conference games. The Cardinals are 112-18 at home in regular season non-conference games over the last 15 seasons.
Louisville played five ranked teams all before Dec. 15. UofL played No. 12 Tennessee on Nov. 9 in the KFC Yum! Center in front of 16,976 fans. The Cardinals beat No. 14/15 in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Louisville played No. 23/20 Ole Miss, then opened ACC play with No. 9 Duke. The Cards then played on the road at No. 5 Kentucky on Dec. 14
Against Florida State on Dec. 21, Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. both logged eight assists apiece; it was the first Louisville game to have two Cardinals log at least eight assists each in the same game since Peyton Siva and Gorgui Deng both had eight against Syracuse in the 2013 Big East Tournament championship game.
The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster. The Cards have 12 players designated as seniors this season, tied with Western Kentucky for the most on any team in men’s DI college basketball.
Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list

Boston College

The Eagles have won the previous four meetings. Last year, BC swept the regular season series with the Cardinals. In 2022-23, the Eagles were 2-0 vs. UofL, winning in the regular season and in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. Boston College is 4-4 versus the Cardinals at home.
One Feb. 3, Donald Hand Jr. was named ACC Player of the Week for the second time this season. He also won the award on Dec. 30. He becomes the first Boston College player to garner weekly conference honors twice since Jerome Robinson did so in 2016-17 and 2017-18 - and the first Eagle win the award twice in the same season since Reggie Jackson during the 2010-11 campaign.
Boston College registered its second double-digit comeback win in ACC play, besting Florida State, 77-76, on Feb. 1. BC trailed by as many as 15 points - 59-44 with 12:40 to go; the Eagles held FSU without a FG for nearly the next 10 minutes.
The 15-point deficit erased against the Seminoles marked the fifth-largest comeback win in program history. Nine of BC’s last 30 wins dating back to last season have come when the Eagles have trailed by double-digits.
With the comeback win over FSU on Feb. 1, Boston College is 5-0 on the season in games decided by four points or less.
Over his last five games, Donald Hand Jr. has connected on 20-of-35 from the 3-point line - good for 57.1%.
On seven occasions this season, BC has shot a higher percentage from 3-point range than overall.
The Eagles averaged 10.7 made 3-point field goals in those seven games.
Donald Hand Jr. ranks tied for 12th in scoring (15.5), 13th in rebounding (6.7) and first in free throw percentage (.909). Hand is one of three players to rank in the top 15 in scoring and rebounding in the conference. Maxime Raynaud (Stanford) and Cooper Flagg (Duke) are the others. Hand ranks second in the ACC and seventh nationally among major conference guards in rebounding. His 90.9% proficiency mark from the charity stripe is first in the ACC and ranks 15th nationally. Hand also ranks tied for eighth in the ACC in 3-pointers made, averaging nearly 2.14 3FGM per game. (45 total).
Chad Venning sits in second in the ACC - and 36th nationally - in field goal percentage, connecting on 55.7% of his shots. Venning is also sixth in the ACC - and 105th nationally - in blocked shots, averaging 1.43 swats per outing. Venning’s 30 total blocks is sixth-most in the ACC and is 109th-most nationally.
Jayden Hastings is seventh in the ACC in blocks, swatting 1.24 shots per game so far this season.
As a team, BC ranks 75th nationally - and seventh in the ACC - in 3-point field goal percentage (.362), and 99th in the country (seventh in ACC) in blocks per game, at 3.9.
In ACC games, Hand ranks 10th in scoring (16.2 ppg), first in 3-point field goal percentage (.466), fifth in 3-pointers made (2.7/game), and fourth in free throw percentage (.915).
Venning is third among all players in field goal percentage (.564).
Joshua Beadle is 14th in assists, averaging 3.40 per conference game and his 2.27:1 assist/turnover mark is ninth-best.
Jayden Hastings is ninth in blocked shots in ACC games, swatting 1.40 shots per game

(Photo of J'Vonne Hadley: Brett Davis - Imagn Images)

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