Syracuse (18-8, 8-5 Atlantic Coast) travels to No. 18 Louisville (19-6, 8-4) on Wednesday to face the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center. The Orange has won eight of its past nine games, while UofL has lost its last two. The Cardinals self-imposed a postseason ban that will prevent them from competing in the ACC tournament and NCAA Tournament in March.

Here’s everything you need to know about SU’s next opponent.

The Louisville report: The Cardinals were on the fast track to be one of the conference favorites before the team’s postseason chances were derailed in early February. The Cardinals beat winless Boston College in their first game following the ban, but have since lost to Duke and Notre Dame on the road. Louisville’s worst loss came on the road to Clemson. Like Syracuse, UofL starts two senior guards in Damion Lee and Trey Lewis. Lee is in his first season after transferring from Drexel. Lewis transferred from Cleveland State last season and also played at Penn State as a freshman. The two combine to average. 28.7 points per game and are the only scorers that average in double figures on the team. As a team, the Cardinals rank second in college basketball in defensive efficiency, per Kenpom.com. They’re also one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. They get most of their points inside the arc, scoring just 23.6 percent of their points from 3.

Last time they played: Syracuse picked up its signature home win of the season as it defeated then-No. 12 Louisville on Feb. 18, 2015 by the score of 69-59. The Orange was led by Rakeem Christmas, who had 29 points, and SU won the game despite being down by as many as eight points. Syracuse shot 4-of-18 from 3 and had only five offensive rebounds. Michael Gbinije contributed 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win.

“The hot hand was definitely Rak,” Gbinije said after the game. “I just wanted to get him as many touches I could.”

All-time series: Wednesday will mark the 24th meeting between Louisville and Syracuse. The Orange is 8-15 in the previous 23 contests.

 

Daily Orange File Photo

 

How Syracuse beats Louisville: Both teams force opponents into taking a lot of time off the shot clock. Syracuse’s defense has opponents taking 19.3 seconds off the shot clock — the most in Division I. Louisville’s 18.7 seconds is fourth most in Division I. This will likely be a classic Big East, defensive showdown. And while the Cardinals are the better defensive team statistically, they do have a propensity to give up relatively more 3-pointers. Syracuse will need to have the same type of strong ball movement that it’s grown accustomed to, and it needs to put home its open looks when it gets them.

Stat to know: At first glance, Louisville might look like it has a resume that stacks up with anyone in the nation. But that’s not the case. The Cardinals only have one win inside Kenpom’s top 43 teams. It defeated North Carolina at home on Feb. 1. It beat Florida State at home as well, but the Cardinals have no quality road wins. In its best chances to get quality wins, Louisville has lost to Virginia, Notre Dame, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State.

Player to watch: Aside from being the little brother of former Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku, Chinanu Onuaku has become a very versatile player for Louisville. He makes his field goals at a 61.6 percent clip and has established himself as one of the best shot blockers in the country. He only scored eight points and had 11 rebounds against Syracuse last time. But the Orange had trouble containing Boston College’s Dennis Clifford. Onuaku presents an even greater challenge.

Published on February 16, 2016 at 3:45 pm