Louisville basketball: Cards look to sweep UNC in Ali themed uniforms

College Gameday or not this is the day’s headliner in College Basketball and someone is going to shine.

On ESPN and as the day’s lone top 15 battle, this game is certain to have a significant national audience. It will be the headline game for the early slate, if not for the entire day. Despite that, the four letter network’s “College Gameday” has yet again snubbed the Cards and the KFC Yum Center. This will certainly be Louisville’s most viewed game since an unimpressive performance against in-state rival, Kentucky.

With all of the attention aimed at this matchup, many of Louisville’s top players, still nameless to the national basketball audience, will have a serious opportunity to put both themselves and their team in the spotlight.

Specifically Louisville’s Jordan Nwora has much to gain here. He will be given yet another opportunity to separate his name from the pack. Nwora has capitalized on most of his opportunities and yet still, nationally,  has been undoubtedly overshadowed by the school’s recent history despite being among the nation’s most prolific scorers.

Nwora is the league’s 5th leading scorer at 18.2 points per game and the league’s 7th leading rebounder with 7.2 total rebounds per game. Nwora will get to put his astounding scoring ability and exceptional athleticism on display against a heralded UNC team, that is top 3 in scoring.

The Tar Heels push the games pace and maximize possessions and should allow for a breakout performance by Louisville’s most obviously gifted offensive weapon. This game will go a long way in making Jordan Nwora a household name.

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Nwora’s teammates, Dwayne Sutton, Christen Cunningham and Steven Enoch, have already proven they are more than capable of competing with this Carolina squad and very well may be in for even more impressive stat lines than in their first time out against the Tar Heels.

Lesser known fan favorites, such as Malik Williams and Ryan McMahon shouldn’t be overlooked either. The odds on favorite is clearly Nwora, but at least one of the Cardinals will use this game to have a coming party on the national stage.

On Carolina’s side of the ball. Freshman Coby White is pushing ahead of some of his teammates in becoming a dependable scoring threat.  White is finally emerging as the recruiting talented he was projected to be. Louisville will have an unknown quantity to handle on the defensive end here.

White will be given a prime opportunity to improve his draft stock in this nationally televised game. He is projected by most services as a late first round pick in next year’s NBA draft.