Game day central: Louisville basketball battles Duke for ACC supremacy

Keys to the game

Louisville must avoid big droughts

This seems pretty obvious in any game, but it seems to be the storyline for the Cardinals of late. Louisville has to keep its focus and not fall into any mental slumps throughout the game.

The Cardinals have shown that they can get out to big-time leads, even against stiff competition, and we have seen that regardless of the opponent, Louisville almost always finished strong.

It’s that 10-15 minute period in the middles of games that just seems soft. It’s a trend that Louisville has to address or it will continue to come back to bite them.

This is Duke. This is Cameron Indoor and the Crazies in primetime. It’s College Gameday. This is everything that one would think would demand Louisville’s full attention for forty minutes. If they can learn how to stay mentally tough throughout, they are the team to beat in the ACC.

Steven Enoch has to get things going

Speaking of breaking out of slumps, Louisville center Steven Enoch has been struggling of late. After a hot start leading up to a career performance against Kentucky, the typically reliable Enoch has been just a hair off on both ends of the floor.

At this point, it’s an exception and not the rule, but Louisville could desperately use a big game from their future NBA big man who has shown a propensity for turning it on when the bright lights come on.

Jordan Nwora must do Jordan Nwora things

Louisville has played 16 games thus far, and Jordan Nwora has been the Cards’ leading scorer in 15 of them. Additionally, Nwora has eclipsed the 20 point mark 10 times and only scored fewer than 18 three times.

The formula for Louisville is pretty simple on offense when Nwora has things going. Get Jordan the ball and let him do his thing. He is a high volume shooter, but as the season progresses, Nwora is learning to pick and choose his moments in an attempt to eliminate wasted possessions.

He doesn’t have to play out of his mind for Louisville to win, but he does have to be efficient when he has the ball in his hands. Against the combination of White and Hurt, Nwora could have the most distinct mismatch advantage on the court Saturday.

Predictions

Presley Meyer

• Vernon Carey Jr. goes for a double-double
• David Johnson scores in double figures again
• Jordan Nwora makes 4+ threes

Louisville 81, Duke 84

Jacob Lane

• Jordan Nwora scores 20-plus points
• Darius Perry starts but finishes with season-low in minutes played
• Chris Mack plays Malik Williams and Steven Enoch together for the first time

Louisville 81, Duke 79 (OT)