A Quick Look at Louisville's Remaining 2020-21 Schedule
(Photo of Carlik Jones, David Johnson: Scott Utterback/Louisville Courier-Journal/USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following their 62-59 win over intrastate rival Kentucky, the Louisville men's basketball program will close the calendar year with a 6-1 mark. While their lone blemish on the season came in blowout fashion vs. Wisconsin, the Cardinals have largely been a team that has exceeded most expectations among media & fans alike.
Head coach Chris Mack will give his players a few days off for Christmas, but then it's right back to the grind. One day after the calendar flips over to 2021, Louisville will be right back on the court to begin the gauntlet that is ACC play. Their next game has them travel up to Boston College on Saturday, Jan. 2 for a 12:00 p.m. EST tipoff on Fox Sports South.
Over the coming weeks, Louisville Report will have a detailed and in depth breakdown of each remaining opponent left for the Cards to face. But for now, we will give you a brief glimpse of every team in the ACC to give you some idea of what to expect over the next two months.
Boston College
Dates: Saturday, Jan. 2 (away); Saturday, Jan. 30 (home)
Record: 2-5 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 106th (101st Offense, 111th Defense)
Snapshot: This might be the season in which the Eagles finally part ways with head coach Jim Christian. Boston College is allowing opposing defenses to shoot for 50.0% (320th in D1), and their two wins on the season are against 3-5 Rhode Island & 0-3 Maine. Of their four games against top 50 opponents, two were blowouts, including a brutal 101-63 loss to Syracuse in their ACC opener.
Player to Watch: Junior guard Wynston Tabbs: 15.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 44.0 FG%, 38.5 3PT%
Virginia Tech
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 6 (home); Saturday, Feb. 13 (away)
Record: 7-1 (1-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 38th (35th Offense, 40th Defense)
Snapshot: Virginia Tech was voted to finish 11th in the ACC preseason poll, but so far, the Hokies have out kicked the coverage so to speak. They defeated then-No. 3 Villanova at Mohegan Sun, and grinded out a win at home against Clemson. They do have an inexplicable 20-point loss to Penn State, and four of their seven wins are against teams outside of KenPom's top 200.
Player to Watch: Redshirt junior forward Keve Aluma: 14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 53.9 FG%, 42.1% 3PT%
Georgia Tech
Date: Saturday, Jan. 9 (home)
Record: 4-3 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 78th (62nd Offense, 105th Defense)
Snapshot: It's was a bit of a rocky start for the Yellow Jackets, as they opened up the season with a four overtime loss to Georgia State and then a 10-point loss to Mercer, both at home. But since head coach Josh Pastner adjusted his practice tactics for the season, Georgia Tech is 5-1 including a 17-point win over Kentucky.
Player to Watch: Senior forward Moses Wright: 19.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 57.5 FG%
Wake Forest
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 13 (away)
Record: 2-0 (0-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 125th (118th Offense, 136th Defense)
Snapshot: Not a lot is known about this Wake Forest team, as they haven't been able to play since Nov. 27 due to COVID-19 issues both within their own program and others. They might be 2-0, but their competition (Delaware State & Longwood) is a combined 1-11. What is known is that this is a brand new era of Demon Deacons basketball, as they bring in head coach Steve Forbes and lost their two best players in Olivier Sarr & Brandon Childress.
Player to Watch: Graduate transfer guard Ian Dubose: 11.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 50.0 FG%, 60.0 3PT%
Miami
Date: Saturday, Jan. 16 (away)
Record: 4-2 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 67th (99th Offense, 43rd Defense)
Snapshot: If there's anyone else in the ACC that can relate to Louisville in terms of team health, it's Miami, as five players have missed at least one game due to injury. Two players have been lost for the season (Rodney Miller, Sam Waardenburg), and another two have yet to return from injury (Chris Lykes, Kameron McGusty). The Canes do have a solid win against Purdue, but also a loss to Florida Gulf Coast.
Player to Watch: Senior guard Chris Lykes: 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.5 apg, 36.0 FG%, 45.0 3PT%.
Florida State
Date: Monday, Jan. 18 (home)
Record: 5-1 (1-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 26th (31st Offense, 29th Defense)
Snapshot: The Noles might have lost a plethora of talent to the NBA, but Leonard Hamilton's crew keeps on trucking. The second-tallest team in D1 (USC) with an average height of 79.5 inches, FSU already has a pair of noteworthy wins vs. Indiana & Florida, powered by a good combination of veteran experience and youth.
Player to Watch: Senior guard MJ Walker: 16.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 40.7 FG%, 41.9 3PT%
Duke
Date: Saturday, Jan. 23 (home); Saturday, Feb. 27 (away)
Record: 3-2 (1-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 12th (20th Offense, 14th Defense)
Snapshot: The Blue Devils haven't had the smoothest of starts by their lofty standards. After falling to Michigan State and getting blown out by Illinois, Duke decided to cancel all of their remaining non-conference games. On top of that, star freshman Jalen Johnson injured his foot in practice prior to their game vs. Notre Dame, but was only expected to be out 2-3 weeks.
Player to Watch: Sophomore forward Matthew Hurt: 18.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 52.2 FG%,
Syracuse
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 3 (away); Wednesday, Feb. 17 (home)
Record: 6-1 (1-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 28th (41st Offense, 25th Defense)
Snapshot: There have been times where the Orange have looked impressive, and there are times where they have struggled. Syracuse has 30-point blowouts over Niagara, Rider & Boston College; but on the other side of that coin, they have a 1-point win over Bryant, a win over Buffalo that required overtime, and a 10-point loss at Rutgers. Whichever Syracuse shows up on any given night, they usually play a relatively clean game, as they commit only 14.1 fouls per game (11th in D1).
Player to Watch: Sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier: 18.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 66.2 FG%
Virginia
Date: Saturday, Feb. 6 (away); Saturday, Mar. 6 (home)
Record: 4-2 (0-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 18th (48th Offense, 11th Defense)
Snapshot: Surprise, the Cavaliers rank dead last in adjusted tempo (but you already knew that). But the preseason favorite to win the ACC has had a couple bumps in the road to start the season, losing to San Francisco by the slimmest of margins, and getting boat raced by No. 1 Gonzaga. That being said, Tony Bennett still runs one of the most efficient teams int he nation, as Virginia commit just 9.5 turnovers per game and have an effective field goal % of 57.1% (19th in D1).
Player to Watch: Redshirt senior forward Sam Hauser: 12.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 51.0 FG%, 37.0 3PT%
Pitt
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 10 (home)
Record: 5-2 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 77th (131st Offense, 41st Defense)
Snapshot: When the Cardinals and Panthers suit up for their rematch, Louisville will be in store for a completely different Pitt team. Their two leading scorers in Justin Champagnie & Au'Diese Toney should be back from injury barring any setbacks, and head coach Jeff Capel will hopefully be able to rejoin by then after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to the first matchup.
Player to Watch: Sophomore forward Justin Champagnie: 17.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 bpg, 48.9 FG%
North Carolina
Date: Saturday, Feb. 20 (away)
Record: 5-3 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 21st (38th Offense, 17th Defense)
Snapshot: After suffering his first losing season in his long and illustrious tenure as a head coach, Roy Williams' Tar Heels look much better this time around. North Carolina might be just 5-3 so far this season, but they've been battle-tested early, having already faced two top 10 KenPom teams in Texas & Iowa. They use their length (eighth-tallest in D!) to crash the boards with ease, as they lead the ACC in rebounds (45.4) and rebound margin (12.5).
Player to Watch: Garrison Brooks: 11.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 47.4 FG%
Notre Dame
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 23 (away)
Record: 3-4 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 88th (24th Offense, 185th Defense)
Snapshot: In true Mike Brey fashion, the Fighting Irish are excellent on the offensive but abysmal on defense. Notre Dame not only makes the most three pointers in the ACC at 10.0 per game, but their 40.9% three-point shooting percentage is also a league best. Conversely, the Irish have the second-worst field goal percentage defense in the ACC (45.7%), and force turnovers on just 12.5% on their defensive possessions (329th in D1).
Player to Watch: Junior guard Prentiss Hubb: 16.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.0 apg, 38.4 FG%, 37.5 3PT%
Clemson
Date: Wednesday, Mar. 3 (away)
Record: 6-1 (0-1 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 20th (76th Offense, 2nd Defense)
Snapshot: Surprisingly, Virginia is not who has the best defense in the ACC, Clemson does. In fact, the Tigers have the second-best adjusted defensive efficiency in Division I (Texas Tech). They allow just 53.4 points per game, the third-lowest in D1 behind Ole Miss & Tennessee, and their opponents shoot just 37.0% (17th in D1). They're deep too, as their bench minutes rate of 39.4% is the best in the ACC.
Player to Watch: Aamir Sims: 12.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 spg, 59.6 FG%, 45.5 3PT%
NC State
Date: To Be Determined (Postponed from Dec. 16)
Record: 5-1 (1-0 ACC)
KenPom Ranking: 40th (49th Offense, 35th Defense)
Snapshot: Whenever Louisville is able to get the Wolfpack back on the schedule, they better have their offensive issues figured out by then. You can best describe this NC State team as "bothersome", as Kevin Keatts' squad forces the fourth-most turnovers in D1 (21.5) while also tallying the fourth-most steals (11.0). They have the second-best scoring margin in the ACC (18.5), but have only played two teams in KemPom's top 30 (L vs. St. Louis, W vs. UNC).
Player to Watch: Devon Daniels: 17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.2 spg, 50.0 FG%
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