TV info, story lines for U of L-UNC
U OF L VS. UNC
Game time: 2 p.m. (or 30 minutes after the first game). Site: Greensboro Coliseum. Line: North Carolina by 2.5 points. Series: North Carolina leads 10-4, though U of L won the last meeting 78-68 on Jan. 31 in Louisville. Television: ESPN (Sean McDonough and Shane Battier) and WAVE-3 in Louisville. Radio: WHAS-840.
PROJECTED STARTERS
NORTH CAROLINA (22-10)
Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Marcus Paige 6-1 Jr. 2.9 13.6
F-J.P. Tokoto 6-6 Jr. 5.6 8.6
F-Justin Jackson 6-8 Fr. 3.7 10.1
F-Brice Johnson 6-9 Jr. 7.9 12.7
C-Joel James 6-10 Jr. 1.8 2.7
Key reserves - Kennedy Meeks*, F, 6-9, So., 12.0 pts.; Theo Pinson*, F, 6-6, Fr., 3.2; Isaiah Hicks, F, 6-8, So., 6.8 pts.; Nate Britt, G, 6-0, So., 6.0; Joel Berry, G, 6-1, Fr., 3.6; Jackson Simmons, F, 6-7, Sr., 0.8. * - Meeks and Pinson are game-time decisions.
LOUISVILLE (24-7)
Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Quentin Snider 6-1 Fr. 1.3 3.2
G-Terry Rozier 6-1 So. 5.4 17.0
F-Wayne Blackshear 6-5 Sr. 4.3 10.7
F-Montrezl Harrell 6-8 Jr. 9.4 15.8
C-Chinanu Onuaku, 6-10 Fr. 4.9 3.4
Key reserves – Mangok Mathiang, C, 6-10, R-So., 2.6 pts.; Shaqquan Aaron, F, 6-7, Fr., 1.5; Anas Mahmoud, F, 7-0, Fr., 1.3; Anton Gill, G, 6-3, So., 2.6; Jaylen Johnson, F, 6-9, Fr., 1.2; David Levitch, G, 6-3, So., 1.5.
STORY LINES
Thursday's game is obviously the ACC tournament debut for U of L. The Cardinals finished 12-6 in their first season in the league, and enter the tournament as the fourth seed. History has been a bit inconsistent in Louisville's conference tournament debuts in new leagues. The Cards are 3-4 in such games, with wins in their first conference tournament matchups in the Ohio Valley, Conference USA and the American. Their first-ever conference tournament appearance came back in 1926, when Western Kentucky topped the Cards 40-32 in the first round of the KIAC tournament.
Related:Russ Smith on conference tournaments
Louisville arrives at the ACC tournament with an NCAA tournament bid locked up. Now the Cards are jostling for favorable seeding, and the matchups give them a chance to significantly boost their resume. A win against UNC on Thursday would give U of L four RPI top-50 wins and a third RPI top-25 win. A loss would likely leave Louisville at risk of dropping out of the NCAA tournament selection committee's top 16 teams, which would mean U of L would move into 5 seed territory. A win would put the Cards in strong position for a 4 seed with the chance to keep climbing up the list.
Related:An in-depth look at Louisville's NCAA tournament resume
UNC and U of L have had two riveting meetings this season -- one decided in the final 10 seconds, the other in overtime. Both games included ferocious rallies. UNC came back from a 13-point deficit; U of L came back from an 18-point deficit. So what makes these teams so fun to watch when they meet? Probably tempo -- they both prefer to get up and down the floor, and they both try to use presses to speed their opponents up. What's also interesting is the contrast in efficiency numbers: U of L is the fifth-most efficient defense in the country, while UNC is the 13th-most efficient offense. On the flip side, Louisville is 82nd in offensive efficiency, and UNC is 42nd in defensive efficiency.