Louisville basketball aims to declaw upset-minded Clemson

Players to watch

F, Jordan Nwora – Louisville

Most fans are not going to give Nwora credit where its due when the Cardinals’ All-American forward isn’t lighting up the scoreboard.

However, Nwora has been an integral piece without scoring at a high rate during Louisville’s winning streak.

As teams begin to focus on shutting down Nwora more and more, it is freeing up other players to make plays and find their comfort zone on this team. Nwora does a ton of stuff that often goes unnoticed. He creates second chance opportunities, he crashes the defensive glass better than anyone on the team, he is a good passer, a great cutter, and an overall asset for Louisville.

Unlike seasons past where Nwora often faded away, he has embraced the target on his back, and it is paying dividends for the Cardinals.

Like against Georgia Tech, Nwora is going to have a lot of opportunities in mismatches, and if he can get hot early it will set the tone for the rest of the game.

PF, Aamir Simms – Clemson

There is not a more fascinating player to watch in the ACC than Clemson’s Aamir Simms. The Tigers junior forward is small in stature for a five-man, but he plays like a pick and pop center.

Sims is a multifaceted player in that he doesn’t mind going back-to-the-basket and getting physical with bigger centers, but he also thrives in pick-and-rolls and back cutting to the basket.

If Simms screens up top, he is inclined to roll back and force you to respect his inside presence, but if you overplay him, he will stay outside, where he has a polished jump shot.

Simms is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc on the year, and is red hot of late, averaging 19.6 points per game over the last eight games.

Simms is going to get his no matter how you guard him, so it will be interesting to see if Louisville tried to force him inside and rely on Williams and Enoch to rotate back with help or concede the outside shot.

Either way, Simms presents a tough match-up.

G, Tevin Mack – Clemson

Former Texas turned Alabama, now Clemson graduate-transfer Tevin Mack has been a big part of the Tigers turnaround the last few weeks. Over the four-game stretch that saw Clemson upset NC State, North Carolina, and Duke, Mack averaged nearly 17 points per game, while providing a solid lift on the glass as well as defensively.

While Mack has been good, not great overall this season, he is a proven player who knows what it takes to win big games. Mack will most likely draw a combination of Dwayne Sutton and Jordan Nwora due to his height and length, and if Louisville’s not careful in paying attention to the scouting report Mack could make the difference.

Louisville will need to force him into shooting deep three’s, something that’s not a strength of his, rather than letting him be able to take his defender off the dribble into the paint of the defense. Clyde Trapp, John Newman, and Curran Scott all have the ability to score but Mack is without question the most likely to have a big game against Louisville.