By Eli Dych and Derek DeBurger
The Louisville Cardinals are looking to bounce back against the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels after a promising week of basketball.
UNC will be the best opponent Louisville faces this year, and it’s likely to be an ugly matchup of two opposite-trending teams. Head coach Hubert Davis has the Tar Heels coming off a dominant 103-67 win against Syracuse in which UNC controlled the glass, spearheaded by center Armando Bacot’s 11 rebounds to outrebound the Orange 53-30.
Cards fans should be familiar with Bacot. Two years ago, he managed to play a large portion of the second half and overtime with just four fouls on his way to a monster performance in the closest game Louisville has played against the Tar Heels. Bacot has been the clear star for UNC for the past few years—leading the team in rebounds, blocks, and shooting percentage—but the team has talent at every position. RJ Davis is the leading scorer for UNC with 20.4 points per game, and Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan both contribute double-figures nightly.
Despite the talent gap, Louisville should have no problem hanging in with and even competing against the Tar Heels. Kentucky, who is similar to UNC in both style and talent level, was an opponent that the Cards competed with until the discrepancy in coaching grew too large. UNC has never really put much emphasis on defense, so the Cards should get points, but the Tar Heels have had several strong defensive performances this year which will raise some questions about how easy baskets will come. If the Cards can get back in transition, force half-court sets and defend for a full shot-clock they should have a legit chance to win.
According to KenPom, UNC has a top-20 offense and a top-five defense. Since 1999, every national champion has been in the Top 25 of offensive efficiency and top 40 of defensive efficiency on KenPom rankings. UNC could win the National Championship this season and no one would bat an eye.
Louisville will need to play their best game of the year if they want to have a chance. The past week has been promising, but it’ll be a steep hill to climb.
