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Louisville basketball: Three bold predictions vs. North Carolina

By Presley Meyer

LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 25: Steven Enoch #23, Jordan Nwora #33, Darius Perry #2 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals take the floor in the second half of a game against the Clemson Tigers at KFC YUM! Center on January 25, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Clemson 80-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 25: Steven Enoch #23, Jordan Nwora #33, Darius Perry #2 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals take the floor in the second half of a game against the Clemson Tigers at KFC YUM! Center on January 25, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Clemson 80-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 08: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates making a three point shot against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 08: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates making a three point shot against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /

Louisville doubles North Carolina in three-point makes

This may not seem like a bold prediction on paper, but Louisville basketball fans know better than anyone that teams have been able to break through from beyond the arc against the Cards.

Louisville has struggled in its losses and closer games to close out on three-point shooters and allowed teams to get into a rhythm.

Against Syracuse on Wednesday night, Louisville did an excellent job of seeing the errors of its ways against Georgia Tech and Clemson the week prior and making adjustments. Chris Mack said that Louisville played a lot more man-centric than gap oriented against the Orange, meaning that the Cardinals made it a focus to close out on their man as opposed to forcing the ball to a particular area. As a result, Louisville was able to deny penetration and force the opponent into contested looks.

The Tar Heels are not a high volume three-point shooting team. They rank second to last in 3-point attempts, and last in makes.

UNC makes 5.3 threes a game, while its opponents have converted nearly double that amount. Nevermind that the Cardinals make more than eight threes a game themselves.

Given UNC’s lack of willingness to attempt threes and its propensity to give up a lot of makes, Louisville stands a fair chance to make up any ground it would lose elsewhere with a solid game from deep.

Next. Three takeaways from Syracuse victory. dark

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