CARDINALS

U of L prepared for up-and-down NC State

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Louisville coach Rick Pitino pulled guard Chris Jones from the game early inthe second half, then talked to him on the bench. Jones did not return to the game. Feb. 11, 2015.

NC State is coming to town on Saturday for a 4 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with the ninth-ranked University of Louisville basketball team.

The question is: Which NC State shows up? Will it be the NC State that thrashed Duke a month ago, or the NC State that barely beat bottom-dwelling Georgia Tech in overtime and lost to 12th-place Wake Forest in the past two weeks?

Louisville is preparing for every possible version of NC State, coach Rick Pitino said Friday.

"They're a very difficult team to prepare for because you can't concentrate on any one area," Pitino said. "They can beat you so many ways."

In the past few seasons, Pitino and his assistant coaches have tried a new way of scouting league opponents that helps in peculiar cases like NC State.

Instead of each coach scouting a different opponent, Pitino divvies up the scouting work for each game between him and assistant coaches Mike Balado, Wyking Jones and Kenny Johnson. He handles the overview of the matchup and the opponent's defensive style, while Jones studies opponent's man-to-man offense, Johnson studies opponent's press offense and Balado works on the opponent's zone offense.

They each watch every conference game their upcoming opponent has played. NC State (14-11, 5-7 in the ACC) has lost five of its past six ACC games after winning four of its first six.

"Then we'll put it all together," Pitino said. "It's the best system that we've had because everybody is totally tuned in to every opponent."

From there, the staff incrementally passes on its findings and game plan to the players, dissecting each aspect of their opponent right up through the pre-game routine.

"One thing you have to understand is you're going to have slippage (among the players)," Pitino said. "They're not going to get every little thing, so repetition is the key."

Louisville's players will see a lot of NC State's efficient offense. The Wolfpack rank near the middle of the Division I hoops in field-goal percentage, but they don't turn the ball over much (16.6 percent of their possessions) and they're among the better squads in the country at offensive rebounding.

Against Duke, NC State was blazing hot from 3-point range, making 10 of 16, and only lost 10 turnovers. Big guards Trevor Lacey, who is 6-foot-3, and 6-5 Ralston Turner combined for 37 points from 12-of-20 shooting.

But when the offense isn't all there -- NC State shot 33 percent in Wednesday's loss to Virginia -- the Wolfpack struggles because of its defensive inconsistency. ACC opponents in particular have feasted on offensive rebounds, and they've taken 75 more free throws than NC State.

Those smaller statistical issues add up to 11 losses, seven of which have been decided by five or fewer points.

"We're not far off," NC State coach Mark Gottfried said after the Virginia loss. "We're close. We're right there. We don't need to reinvent who we are. We just have to get a little bit better."

Louisville (20-4, 8-3 in the ACC) feels a bit more comfortable at this point in the season. The Cardinals got more offense than usual from reserve guard Quentin Snider and starting center Chinanu Onuaku during Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh.

Even with starting wing Wayne Blackshear nursing a painful hip pointer that could keep him out of Saturday's game, Pitino, buoyed by that Wednesday performance, felt confident that his team's improving role players can help more than they have in the past.

Preparation is a significant element of the coach's confidence.

"This team is getting very consistent," Pitino said. "They take care of business the same way every night. They don't always play the best basketball, and we have our challenges like every team has, but they're very consistent."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).

SATURDAY'S GAME

NC STATE AT NO. 9 LOUISVILLE

4 p.m ,KFC Yum! Center

TV: ESPN Radio: WKRD-790