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Louisville Basketball: 2018-19 keys for the Cardinals against NC State

By Jason Burgess

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Steven Enoch #23 of the Louisville Cardinals and Dwayne Sutton #24 react during the first half of the game against Marquette Golden Eagles at the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament at Barclays Center on November 23, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Steven Enoch #23 of the Louisville Cardinals and Dwayne Sutton #24 react during the first half of the game against Marquette Golden Eagles at the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament at Barclays Center on November 23, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 21: The Louisville Cardinals mascot performs during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC YUM! Center on December 21, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 21: The Louisville Cardinals mascot performs during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC YUM! Center on December 21, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Louisville Basketball will look to stay in the logjam at the top of the ACC by defeating NC State on Thursday night. Here are some keys to a Cardinals win.

Head coach Chris Mack has his 13-5, No. 23rd ranked Louisville Basketball on a bit of a roll heading into their Thursday night matchup with No. 21 N.C. State (15-3, 3-2). Since losing a heartbreaker to Indiana at the buzzer on Dec. 8, the Cardinals have won seven of their last nine, which included an 83-62 dismantling of No. 12 North Carolina at the Dean Dome. Their only losses in that stretch were a loss to in-state rival Kentucky and an overtime loss to Pittsburgh.

The first-year coach has gotten people to forget about the scandalous offseason and focused back on the happenings on the floor. They began the year 3-2, falling to Tennessee and Marquette, but bouncing back by knocking off Michigan State in overtime. Since the beginning of ACC play, the Cardinals have been dominant in their four wins, defeating their opponents by an average of 19 points.

The Cardinals average just under 80 points per game but do so with just two players averaging double digits. Sophomore forward Jordan Nwora is in the midst of a breakout season, after averaging 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a freshman, the 6-8 Nwora leads the team in scoring (18.5) and rebounding (8.1) while shooting 50% from the field and 41% from three-point land. Christen Cunningham is the other big scorer for Mack, netting 10.4 points per contest, the senior guard also shoots it over 50% and over 46% from beyond the arc. Six other players in the Louisville rotation average nearly five points per game, so Louisville gets contributions from everywhere to get their 80 points.

In order to stay in the middle of the logjam that is the top of the ACC, Louisville will have to keep the Wolfpack at bay. In order to do so, here are three keys to the Cardinals knocking off N.C. State.

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