Cardinals Host Clemson on Saturday Afternoon

GAME 26
Date: Feb. 16, 2019
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (143-24 in 9th year)
Television: ESPN - Mike Couzens, play-by-play; Cory Alexander, analyst.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirus channel 119, XM 194, Internet 956).
Series History: Louisville leads 5-2 (4-0 in Louisville, 1-2 at Clemson)
Last Meeting: Clemson 74, UofL 69 (OT) (Jan. 6, 2018 in Clemson, S.C.)
UL National Ranking: 16th Associated Press, 20th USA Today
Officials: Ted Valentine, Tony Chiazza, Tony Henderson
Next UofL Game: Feb. 20 at Syracuse, Syracuse, N.Y., 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Louisville, ranked 16th by AP and 20th in the USA Today poll and tied for fourth the ACC standings, plays its second straight in the KFC Yum! Center as the Cardinals face Clemson on Saturday.

Louisville fell for the third time in its last 10 games -- all to Top 25 teams – as the Cardinals lost a 71-69 heartbreaker to No. 2/1 Duke on Tuesday after leading by 23 points with 9:55 remaining in the game. Jordan Nwora produced his sixth double-double of the season with 23 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Christen Cunningham handed out a season-best 12 assists, the most for a Cardinal in five years. UofL limited Duke to 36.5 percent shooting for the game.

The Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 ACC) are very balanced on the offensive end, with four players averaging over eight points. Sophomore Jordan Nwora leads the Cardinals in in scoring and rebounding with 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Dwayne Sutton ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.2 points along with 6.9 rebounds per game. Christen Cunningham is third on the team in scoring with 10.2 points and leads the team with 120 assists on the year. Steven Enoch averages 9.4 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds per game.

Clemson (15-9, 5-6 ACC) has won four its last five games, but dropped its last game 65-64 on a buzzer-beater at Miami on Feb. 13 in their last game. Graduate guard Marcquise Reed scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, who limited Miami to 38.9 percent shooting from the field and held a 38-29 rebounding advantage.

Clemson is 22nd in the nation in scoring defense (64.1), is 49th in blocked shots per game (4.5), and 50th in field goal percentage defense (.410). Reed is fourth in the ACC in scoring (18.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) while forward Elijah Thomas is seventh in the ACC in rebounding (7.8). Five Tigers have made at least 20 three-pointers. Clemson is No. 32 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 31 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 39 in the NET rankings and No. 32 by Ken Pomeroy through Feb.13.

Louisville has a 5-2 series advantage over Clemson, but the Cards fell 74-69 in overtime in last year's meeting at Clemson as Ray Spalding led UofL with 16 points and 14 rebounds (1-6-18).

CARD FILES

Jordan Nwora is the second-most improved scorer in the nation with his 17.8 scoring average (fifth in the ACC) up 12.1 ppg from his 5.7 average last year. He has scored 20 or more points on 11 occasions this season, including his sixth double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds against Duke in his last game.
Christen Cunningham leads the ACC in assists in conference only games (6.8). He has handed out 67 assists in his last nine games, including a season-best 12 assists vs. Duke in his last game, the most for a Cardinal in five years.
In his last five games, Dwayne Sutton has averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and shot 62.8 percent from the field (14-of-28 threes, .500). He has scored in double digits in 13 of the last 16 games, including 15 points vs. Duke in his last game. He has double-doubles in four of the last 11 games.
Louisville has a 46-14 record in its conference home games over the last six years (.767). UofL has the fourth-most conference home wins in its five years in the ACC with a 31-11 ACC home record.
Louisville has allowed less than 55 points in three of its last eight games. The Cardinals have limited an opponent to under 40 percent accuracy for a half on 23 occasions this season, including holding Duke below that mark in both halves of its last game (36.5% for the game). UofL is 27th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency.
UofL has scored 80 or more points in 13 games (78.2 ppg) and the Cardinals are 15^th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency by Kenpom. UofL is third in the ACC in scoring offense for conference games (77.9 ppg).

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Players Mentioned

Christen Cunningham

Steven Enoch

Jordan Nwora

Ray Spalding

Dwayne Sutton

University of Louisville Athletics