CARDINALS

TV info, story lines for U of L-NC State

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

U of L's Terry Rozier, #0, shoots during practice ahead of playing NC State in the Sweet 16 Tournament in Syracuse, NY.
March 26, 2015

U OF L VS. NC STATE

Game time: 7:37 p.m. Site: The Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.. Line: Louisville by three points. Series: NC State leads 9-8 and won the last meeting, 74-65, at the Yum! Center. Television: TBS. Radio: WHAS-840.

PROJECTED STARTERS

NC STATE (22-13)

Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Cat Barber 6-2 So. 3.3 12.3

G-Trevor Lacey 6-3 Jr. 4.6 15.7

G-Ralston Turner 6-5 Sr. 3.3 12.8

F-Abdul-Malik Abu Fr. 6-8 4.7 6.4

F-Lennard Freeman So. 6-8 5.7 3.6

Key reserves - Caleb Martin, F, 6-7, Fr., 4.9 pts.; BeeJay Anya, F, 6-9, So., 4.5; Cody Martin, F, 6-7, Fr., 3.4; Desmond Lee, G, 6-4, Jr., 2.9; Kyle Washington, F, 6-9, So., 6.7.

LOUISVILLE (26-8)

Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Quentin Snider 6-1 Fr.1.5 3.8

G-Terry Rozier 6-1 So. 5.2 17.2

F-Wayne Blackshear 6-5 Sr. 4.4 11.1

F-Montrezl Harrell 6-8 Jr. 9.2 15.4

C-Mangok Mathiang 6-10 R-So. 4.6 2.5

Key reserves – Chinanu Onuaku, F, 6-10, Fr., 3.1 pts.; Shaqquan Aaron, G, 6-7, Fr., 1.4; Anas Mahmoud, F, 7-0, Fr., 1.2; Anton Gill, G, 6-3, So., 2.5; Jaylen Johnson, F, 6-9, Fr., 1.2; David Levitch, G, 6-3, So., 1.3.

STORY LINES

There's no shortage of story lines before Friday's Sweet 16 rematch between Louisville and NC State. Both teams can use their first meeting as a starting point. For NC State, the Wolfpack started playing much better that day, and have won eight of their last 10 games. They outlasted LSU in the first half and played impressive defense in upsetting top seed Villanova in the second round. For Louisville, that NC State loss was as close to rock bottom (on the court) that the Cardinals got this season. From there, they struggled at Syracuse and then lost Chris Jones. But the past five weeks have shown Louisville round into form, and Sunday's comfortable win over Northern Iowa showed the Cards at their best.

Once again there's a long list of NCAA tournament history involving Louisville and the Sweet 16. Rick Pitino is 11-1 in the Sweet 16, with his only loss coming in last year's regional semifinal vs. Kentucky. As a team, Louisville is 51-9 as the higher seed and is 4-2 against No. 8 seeds in the tournament. In the Cards' fourth consecutive Sweet 16, they are favored by Ken Pomeroy's algorithm (66-63, with 62-percent confidence they win outright) and by Vegas oddsmakers. For Louisville to back up those odds, the Cards have to get more production from Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell than they did in that February loss to NC State, and they have to turn NC State over.

A huge factor in Louisville's two wins in Seattle was its bench. The scoring has been minimal -- the Cards had two bench points vs. UC-Irvine and five vs. Northern Iowa -- but the help has come in other ways. Freshman big man Jaylen Johnson has developed into an important rebounder and energy guy off the bench, and his three points and four boards in the first half vs. UNI were critical. David Levitch delivered a perfect back-door pass to Terry Rozier for a layup in the same game. That type of stuff hasn't happened much this season, and it's a big reason why U of L is playing so much better of late.