Cardinals Host the Tar Heels in a Big Monday Matchup

Monday, February 1

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 PM ET

University of Louisville

NORTH CAROLINA

Tickets

January 31, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Louisville faces North Carolina for its third game in six days

By: Kim Pemberton

GAME 22
Date: Feb. 1, 2016
Time: 7:01 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (94-13 in 6th yr.)
Television: ESPN - Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Doris Burke, analyst; Kaylee Hartung, reporter.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius ch. 84, XM 84). Also:
Compass Media Networks - Kevin Ray, play-by-play; Steve Lappas, analyst.
Series History: UofL trails 4-11 (3-0 in Louisville, 0-2 in Chapel Hill, 1-9 neutral)
Last Meeting: North Carolina 70, UL 60 (March 12, 2015 at Greensboro, N.C. ACC Tournament quarterfinals)
UofL National Ranking: 14th USA Today, 16th Associated Press
Officials: Bryan Kersey, Mike Eades, Bill Covington, Jr.
Next UofL Game: Feb. 6 vs. Boston College, KFC Yum! Center, Noon ET (ACC Network/WHAS-TV)

Louisville will play its third game in six days as the Cardinals open the month of February against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the KFC Yum! Center on Monday. Louisville fell 63-47 to No. 11 Virginia on Saturday, its lowest scoring output of the season while allowing the Cavaliers to shoot 57.8 percent from the field.

The Cardinals are led by three players averaging double figures, Damion Lee leads the trio of top scorers with 16.7 points per game. Trey Lewis ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.3 per game. Chinanu Onuaku leads the team in rebounding with 8.15 per game while averaging 10.1 points per game. Quentin Snider also leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game while averaging 9.8 points.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 48.5 percent from the field while holding opponents to 37.7 percent shooting. Louisville leads the nation in scoring margin, defeating opponents by an average of 19.1 points per game. The Cards are also averaging 40.7 rebounds and 13.5 assists per game.

North Carolina (19-2, 8-0), the top-ranked team in the nation in the USA Today coaches poll and second by AP, has won 12 straight, including an 89-62 victory over Boston College last Saturday.

North Carolina is second nationally in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.79), fifth in assists (18.8), ninth in scoring margin (+15.6), 14th in rebound margin (+9.4) and 20th in field goal percentage (.485). Senior forward Brice Johnson, a three-time ACC Player of the Week this season, leads the Tar Heels in scoring (16.8 ppg, 10th in the ACC), rebounding (10.2, 2nd in ACC) and field goal percentage (.623, leads ACC). Marcus Paige, the preseason ACC Co-Player of the Year, is averaging 12.7 points and 3.9 assists

Louisville trails North Carolina 4-11 in its series. The Tar Heels won two of three matchups last season. The teams split their two regular season matchups last year – winning on their home courts -- and UNC prevailed in the ACC Tournament. In Louisville, the Cardinals came from 18 points down in the second half to win in overtime. Four of the meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament, including twice in regional finals.

CARD FILE:

Louisville's academic performance in the 2015 fall semester was impressive, with 13 of 15 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.36 GPA for the 2015 fall semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved in 2013.
Louisville's 140 victories over the last five years are the second-most wins in the nation in that stretch.
UofL leads the nation in scoring margin (+19.1), is fifth in scoring defense (60.2), second in field goal percentage defense (.369), eighth in rebound margin (+10.4) and 10th in offensive rebounds (14.6).
Louisville is 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage (.485). UofL has shot above 50 percent in 11 of its 21 games. The Cards shot 50 percent or above on eight occasions all last season.
Louisville has a 47-13 record in February over the last eight years (since 2007-08), winning 13 of its last 16 in the month.
At Virginia Tech, Damion Lee posted season highs with 29 points, six assists, six three-pointers (in seven attempts) and 11 free throws (in 12 attempts). Lee needs 12 points to reach 1,900 for his career.
Chinanu Onuaku had six straight double-doubles, the first Cardinal to achieve that feat in 22 years. He missed that mark at Virginia Tech two games ago and an illness limited him vs. Virginia. In league games only, he leads the ACC in blocked shots (2.3) and is third rebounding (9.9).