Louisville basketball: 3 locks and 3 bold predictions vs. Wake Forest
By Jacob Lane
Bold prediction: Louisville continues its red-hot ways behind the arc
If there’s one thing that opponents are going to be hyper-aware of for the remainder of the season, it is that the Cardinals can absolutely decimate you from beyond the arc.
Louisville now ranks sixth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage after Jordan Nwora and Ryan McMahon dropped in seven long bombs apiece over the last two games.
The Cardinals love the three-ball and the Demon Deacons seem content to allow teams to take shots from deep.
If this game goes anything like the rest of the season for Wake, the Deacs are going to throw a multitude of defenses your way. In their previous game, Wake stuck to a match-up zone throughout, and it absolutely stifled Clemson. However, against a team that is going to bring a lot more athletes, Wake is likely to throw some straight 2-3 zone and man at Louisville as well.
However, let me be the first to say that the straight-up zone is not a problem that most Wake Forest fans are going to want to have. The Cardinals have been content to work the perimeter lately, and if teams are forced to shade towards centers Steven Enoch and Malik Williams, the guards are wings are going to be content to go to work again from deep.
As we mentioned previously, McMahon and Nwora are two of the best shooters in the country, and in Louisville’s match-up against Clemson last week, Darius Perry splashed five long balls as well.
Louisville is going to continue to blow games open from beyond the arc, and I don’t believe Wake Forest is going to be able to put a stop to that.