Cardinals Face Minnesota in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

GAME 33 – FIRST ROUND NCAA TOURNAMENT
Date: March 21, 2019
Time: 12:15 p.m.
Site: Wells Fargo Arena (14,039), Des Moines, Iowa
Television: CBS - Kevin Harlan, play-by-play; Reggie Miller & Dan Bonner, analysts; Dana Jacobson, reporter.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-byplay; Bob Valvano, analyst. Also: Westwood One
- Kevin Kugler, play-by-play; Robbie Hummel, analyst (Sirus channel 135, XM 201, Internet 971)
Series History: Tied 3-3 (0-1 in Louisville, 0-1 at Minnesota, 3-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 81, Minnesota 68 (Nov. 14, 2014 at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; 2014 Armed Forces Classic)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team will make its 39th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 10 seed Minnesota in an East Region first round contest on Thursday, March 21, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

A No. 7 seed, Louisville has achieved a 20-13 record while facing the nation's third-toughest schedule. Picked to finish 11th in the ACC, UofL attained a 10-8 conference record and earned a tie for sixth in the final ACC regular season standings. The Cardinals have beaten four Associated Press Top 25 teams this year and stand at No. 22 in the nation in the NCAA's NET rankings. Louisville ranks among the nation's top 30 teams in both offensive (29th) and defensive efficiency (17th).

The Cardinals 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 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Dwayne Sutton ranks second on the team in scoring with 10.2 points along with 6.9 rebounds per game. Christen Cunninghamis third on the team in scoring with 9.8 points and leads the team with 156 assists on the year. Steven Enoch averages 9.3 points per game along with 5.2 rebounds per game.

Minnesota makes its second NCAA Tournament trip in three years. The Gophers are making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance overall (excluding vacated seasons of 1994, 1995 and 1997).

Minnesota is ninth in the nation in free throw attempts with 808, are 21st in made free throws (549), and 34th in total rebounds (1259). Jordan Murphy is one of the nation's best rebounders, ranking fifth in the nation averaging 11.5 per game. The 6-foot-7 forward averages 14.8 points per game and his 22 double-doubles are the second-most in the nation. Amir Coffey leads the Gophers in scoring (16.2 ppg) and leads the Big Ten in minutes played.

CARD FILES

Jordan Nwora is the second-most improved scorer in the nation with his 17.2 scoring average (sixth in the ACC) up 11.5 ppg from his 5.7 average last year. He has scored 20 or more points on 12 occasions this season and has eight double-doubles (two of the the last five games). His 75 three-pointers is one short of the top 10 for a single season at Louisville.
Christen Cunningham was second in the ACC in assists in conference only games (6.0). He has handed out seven assists in his last game against North Carolina and had a season-best 12 assists vs. Duke on Feb. 12, the most for a Cardinal in five years. He needs five assists to reach the top 10 for a single season at UofL (156 currently).
In the Cardinals' 18 ACC games, centers Malik Williams (8.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Steven Enoch (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) combined to average 18.1 points and 11.9 rebounds while splitting the time at the position. Williams had his fourth double-double of the season against North Carolina in his last game on March 14, while Enoch added 12 points and three rebounds in the game.
Chris Mack joins Denny Crum (26 wins in 1971-72) David Padgett (22, 2017-18) and John Dromo (21, 1967-68) as the only UofL coaches to have won 20 games in their first season with the Cardinals.
Louisville has limited an opponent to under 40 percent accuracy for a half on 32 occasions, including both halves against Notre Dame on March 13. UofL is 16th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency.
UofL has scored 80 or more points in 13 games (74.5 ppg) and the Cardinals are 29^th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency by Kenpom. UofL was fifth in the ACC in scoring offense for conference games (71.9 ppg).
UofL has faced the third-toughest schedule in the nation (sixth-toughest non-conference). UofL and Minnesota are two of four schools in the nation to have played at least 12 games against schools in the nation's Top 25.
Louisville's 2019 signing class is ranked second in the nation by ESPN.com,

Cardinals Face Minnesota in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Christen Cunningham

Steven Enoch

Jordan Nwora

Dwayne Sutton

Malik Williams

University of Louisville Athletics