NC State vs Louisville: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
NC State and Louisville have begun ACC play in solid shape. Which team will take advantage on Thursday night in a very important conference game?
TV schedule: Saturday, January 24, 8:00 pm ET. ACC Network
Arena: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky
Continuing to build on his successful first year, Kevin Keatts has NC State (15-3) once again in pretty solid shape. For the most part, the Wolfpack have beaten the teams they’ve needed to beat, with a few close losses to solid teams plus last week’s clunker at Wake Forest. Keatts proved at UNC-Wilmington that he’s a winner and he’s quickly revitalizing the Wolfpack program. There aren’t any impressive wins on NC State’s resume, though they have already won a pair of ACC road games, meaning this trip to Louisville could be a great push forward.
Senior guard Torin Dorn has been the Wolfpack’s most potent scorer and rebounder (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg), the leader on a young team. He’s led the Wolfpack in rebounding in ACC play, while junior guard C. J. Bryce (12.2 ppg) has emerged recently, putting up 23 points at Notre Dame on Saturday in the Wolfpack’s last game.
While it’s been against one of the nation’s weakest schedules, the Wolfpack have an impressive high-paced offense, currently sitting at 19th in offensive efficiency. They’ve shot 3-pointers impressively (31st in the nation) and their defense hasn’t been awful despite playing at a fast pace.
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Across the court, Chris Mack has done some impressive work for Louisville (13-5) in his first season, rebuilding the program after the damage from Rick Pitino’s scandal. Louisville has a pair of very impressive wins, knocking off #9 Michigan State in overtime and scoring a great road win at #12 North Carolina a few weeks ago. They enter this game on a three game winning streak, which started with that win in Chapel Hill, and are riding some very real momentum for this home date.
For the Cardinals, sophomore forward Jordan Nwora (18.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) has been the star, with only one other player in double figures this season (Christen Cunningham with 10.4 ppg). Nwora had 32 last Wednesday against Boston College and followed it up with a sweet 25 points at Georgia Tech in a blowout win. This is the player that NC State needs to contain, though junior forward Dwayne Sutton (9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg) can also be a force under the rim.
Mack has this team playing much better than expected, and KenPom has them as the 16th rated team in the nation. They’ve played the 14th toughest schedule and sit impressively at 13th in offensive efficiency. The Cardinals are also 13th in the nation in free throw percentage and will certainly have the advantage late if this becomes a foul-fest.
These were two projected middle of the pack ACC clubs, but they’ve both shown at times that they can compete with the big names in the conference. Louisville has already earned their stripes in Chapel Hill while the Wolfpack have that great shot for a key road win in this game.
This should be a highly entertaining game with plenty of offense, but it will be interesting to see how the Wolfpack match up against Nwora. He’s put together a couple of solid performances and they cannot let him get going early. On the other side, NC State’s offense has been much more balanced, with a different player leading the team in scoring in the last five games.
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As previously mentioned, the Wolfpack can’t afford to get behind late as the Cardinals won’t miss their free throws at home in the clutch. A fast start on the road will be key and they’ll need to rely on Dorn, though a hot start from Markell Johnson (46% from 3) wouldn’t hurt either. I expect Louisville to hold serve at home, but a Keatts-coached Wolfpack team isn’t going to go down without a fight.