Louisville basketball is taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a massive showdown in late February. The Cardinals have had their fair share of struggles against ranked teams on the road, losing all three games and averaging a 20.3-point loss.
The Cards' most recent road game against a ranked team was their showdown with Duke, where Louisville lost by 31. Since that loss, this Cards team has flipped a switch, winning six of their last seven. Louisville enters its matchup against UNC as the slight favorites, as FanDuel and the oddsmakers give the edge to the Cards as 2.5-point favorites.
A major reason the Cardinals are the favorite entering this marquee matchup is that UNC is without its best player, Caleb Wilson, but the Tar Heels did get a massive boost last night when it was announced that one of their stars, Henri Veesaar, is likely playing after missing two of the previous three games.
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The Cardinals have been trending in the right direction for almost a month now, as that ugly loss to Duke lit a fire in this group and has this team on the verge of earning a double-bye in the ACC standings. Tonight's showdown has huge implications for both teams, and with UNC getting Veesaar to play, it is a massive boost for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina’s center was dealing with a lower-body injury last week that forced him to miss two straight games, including North Carolina’s ugly loss to its rival, North Carolina State. The Tar Heels were without Wilson and Veesaar against the Wolfpack, and UNC went on to lose by 24, giving the Cardinals fans a lot of hope that Louisville has a good chance to win in Chapel Hill.
Veesaar returned to the court Saturday, playing 26 minutes against Syracuse, and he is listed as probable for tonight's game. North Carolina getting their center back is a huge boost for the Tar Heels, as ESPN’s Matchup Predictor even updated its chances for the showdown since he was listed as probable and has shifted its odds slightly. Before the Tar Heels' center was listed as probable, Louisville had a 61.1 percent chance of winning this evening, but now that the Tar Heels' 7-foot center is active, Louisville’s chances have dropped a little, to 59.2 percent chance of winning.
The 7-foot, 225-pound center is second on the Tar Heels team in scoring and rebounding, only behind Wilson, as he averages 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from beyond the arc per game. Veesaar is also averaging 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game, and has logged 13 double-doubles this season, including 13 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the field against Duke.
Louisville will have its hands full with Veesaar, likely to play this evening, but the Cardinals' frontcourt has shown major growth this past week. Louisville will look to earn its first road win against a ranked team and climb the ACC standings and NCAA Tournament seedings. With the Cardinals and the Tar Heels tied in the ACC standings, tonight is a crucial game for Louisville to try to jump past UNC and get one step closer to 4th place.
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