Men's Basketball Travels to North Carolina

GAME 28
Date: Feb. 17, 2017
Time: 9:05 p.m.
Site: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, N.C. (21,750)
Television: ESPN - Dan Shulman, play-by-play; Jay Bilas, analyst; Maria Taylor, reporter.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) - Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Luke Hancock, analyst. (Sirius channel 84, XM 84, Internet 84)
Also: Compass Media Networks – Drew Bontadelli, play-by-play; Mike Wozniak, analyst
Series History: UofL trails 5-11 (4-0 in Louisville, 0-2 in Chapel Hill, 1-9 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 71, North Carolina 65 (Feb. 1, 2016 at KFC Yum! Center)
UofL National Ranking: sixth USA Today, seventh Associated Press
Officials: Ron Groover, Pat Driscoll, John Gaffney
Next UofL Game: Feb. 26 vs. Syracuse, KFC Yum! Center, 2 p.m. ET (CBS)

Louisville plays the first of its final two road games of the season as the Cardinals visit the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Wednesday. Louisville won for the 10th time in its last 12 games and its third straight in prevailing 94-90 over Virginia Tech on Feb. 18 as the Cardinals matched a season best with 12 three-point goals. Donovan Mitchell led UofL with 26 points, burying 5-of- 7 three-pointers, and Quentin Snider added 19 points and four assists.

Mitchell leads three Cardinals who are averaging double figures. He is averaging 15.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds. Quentin Snider ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game along with a team leading 86 assists. Deng Adel rounds out the top scorers with 11.3 points per game. Jaylen Johnson leads the Cardinals on the boards with 6.4 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from behind the arc. UofL is averaging 40.3 rebounds per game while holding opponents to 34.0 rebounds a game.

North Carolina (23-5, 11-3 ACC), ranked eighth in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls, has won four of its last five games. The ACC leading Tar Heels beat Virginia 65-41 while limiting the Cavaliers to 27.8 percent shooting from the field. Justin Jackson led UNC with 20 points.

The ACC-leading Tar Heels leads the nation in rebound margin (+13.4) and is third nationally in assists (18.3 apg), sixth in scoring (86.9 ppg) and fifth in scoring margin (+15.9). North Carolina is fourth in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy. North Carolina is No. 5 in the RPI, No. 4 in the Sagarin Ratings and No. 6 by Ken Pomeroy through Feb. 19. The Tar Heels have four players averaging double figures, led by Jackson with 18.6 points per game. Kennedy Meeks leads the team on the boards with 9.1 rebounds per game.

Louisville trails 5-11 in its series against North Carolina, but has won two of the last three including a 71-65 victory last season in the KFC Yum! Center (2-1-16) as Damion Lee led the Cardinals with 24 points and Chinanu Onuaku added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Four of the meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament, including twice in regional finals.

CARD FILE

With its win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, Louisville won its 1,800th victory in its 103 seasons of collegiate basketball. UofL is 10^th in the nation in all-time victories (1,800-897).
Louisville posted a collective 3.18 grade point average for the recently completed 2016 fall semester, with 11 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better GPA.
Louisville is 13th in the nation in field goal defense (.394), 12th in blocked shots (5.7 bpg), 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.302), 13th in scoring margin (+13.7) and 11^th in offensive rebounds per game (13.7).
Louisville has faced the nation's fifth-toughest schedule according to the RPI (Feb. 19). The Cardinals are fourth in the RPI.
Louisville has won at least 22 of its first 27 games for the third time in the last five seasons.
In his last 14 games, Donovan Mitchell has averaged 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.2 steals and has made 42-of-97 three-pointers (.433). Mitchell leads the ACC and is 17th in the nation in steals (2.1 per game). He is among the top 30 candidates for the Naismith Trophy for national player of the year.
Louisville has a 56-17 record (.767) in February over the last nine years (since 2007-08), winning 22 of its last 29 in the month.
Louisville has a 28-15 record in its conference road games over the last five years (.651).
Louisville's 168 victories over the last six years are the fifth-most wins in the nation in that stretch.
Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga). UofL gained its 20th victory vs. Miami on Feb. 11.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Deng Adel

Jaylen Johnson

Damion Lee

Donovan Mitchell

Chinanu Onuaku

Quentin Snider

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