Game day central: Louisville basketball battles Duke for ACC supremacy
By Jacob Lane
F, Jordan Nwora – Louisville
We didn’t see a great Jordan Nwora by any means against Pittsburgh, but what we did see was the junior get through a relatively off offensive night with good defense and all-around intensity.
Nwora presents an interesting matchup against Duke considering his ability to score in all three levels, doing so at 6’8. Coach K will probably throw a mix of defenders at him, including freshman five-star Matthew Hurt, junior Jack White, and potentially sophomore Joey Baker, if he’s able to play.
If Duke does go big and guard him with the options I mentioned above, Nwora should have a significant matchup advantage off the dribble. If they go smaller and throw guys like Alex O’Connell or Cassius Stanley, Nwora should be able to use his size advantage to get his shot off as well as score inside the post.
What Jordan Nwora shows up on Saturday could be the deciding factor in the game. If Louisville gets the effort they got from Nwora against Pittsburgh combined with the shooting we saw against Notre Dame and Miami, Duke is going to have their hands full.
In my opinion, for Louisville to upset Duke they’ll need at least 25 points from Nwora, something he’s more than capable of doing.
G, Tre Jones – Duke
Tre Jones is probably 1A to Jordan Nwora in the race for ACC Player of the Year and has had a great sophomore season. He’s a dynamic playmaking point guard who is a walking assist, all while using his sophomore (and probably last) season to become the scorer Duke desperately needs.
Jones is currently second in the ACC in assists at 6.8 per game and is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game.
Duke lost their triumvirate of sensational freshman to the league last year, but among the talented core on that special Blue Devils squad, Jones was the heartbeat. Now, in 2019-20, Jones faces a tougher test. He is once again surrounded by a young nucleus, but he’s another year older and wiser.
Jones is the lifeblood for this Duke team. Vernon Carey is the motor, Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt, and Wendell Moore are the young stars, but without Jones, they are a work in progress instead of one of the favorites to win it all this season.
For Louisville, if they stop Tre Jones, they have to like their chances of notching their biggest win of the season.
G, David Johnson – Louisville
Louisville’s guards have been so-so defensively this season, but in big-games, they’ve done a good job of stopping other guards.
If that trend is going to continue on Saturday, it will almost certainly be because David Johnson had a hand in things.
Since sitting out the first four games of his freshman season to injury, Louisville has slowly been working Johnson into the lineup. Mack spoke at length about just how long it took for Johnson to get to full speed after suffering a shoulder injury over the summer. Two months of relatively no basketball activity, and another two months of getting back up to speed.
Over the course of the last month, however, Louisville has been searching for answers at the guard position. While senior Ryan McMahon and junior Darius Perry started off red hot, they have regressed quite a bit against longer, more athletic teams. In their place, graduate transfer Fresh Kimble and Johnson, the young Padawan, have been progressively been finding their place on this team.
Johnson’s progression could not have fallen at a better time. He played a big part in Louisville’s last three wins over Miami at home, and on the road at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Now the real test begins for the youngster. If he can continue to get into the lane and create for the offense while improving on defense, Johnson could be the difference between Louisville winning and losing this game.