Capsule: Marquee ACC game for North Carolina as it heads to Louisville
No. 2 North Carolina at No. 16 Louisville
When: 7 p.m.
Where: KFC Yum! Center
TV/Radio: ESPN, 106.1-WTKK
Projected starting lineups
North Carolina (19-2, 8-0 ACC)
G Joel Berry 12.6 ppg, 4.3 apg
G Marcus Paige 12.7 ppg, 3.9 apg
F Justin Jackson 11.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Brice Johnson 16.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg
F Kennedy Meeks 11.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Louisville (17-4, 6-2)
G Quentin Snider 9.8 ppg, 3.6 apg
G Trey Lewis 12.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F Damion Lee 16.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Jaylen Johnson 5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
C Chinanu Onuaku 10.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg
Observations
And finally: a marquee ACC game for the Tar Heels. They’ve built an 8-0 league record against some of the weaker teams in the ACC but the game at Louisville presents a significant challenge – especially to UNC’s offense. The Cardinals are one of the best defensive teams in the nation and Chinanu Onaku, who had a double-double in six consecutive games, leads the ACC in blocked shots (2.3 per game). In conference-only games Louisville is second in the ACC – behind UNC – in defensive efficiency but first in the league in field goal percentage defense. Both UNC and Louisville are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, and which team is more effective at converting second-chance opportunities is likely to be an important factor.
Andrew Carter
This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Capsule: Marquee ACC game for North Carolina as it heads to Louisville."