Miami Hurricanes (11-3, 2-1) vs. Louisville Cardinals (5-9, 0-3)
7 p.m. is the game time.
Watsco Center is located in Coral Gables, Florida.
ACC Network on television
Announcers: analyst Seth Greenberg and play-by-play Anish Shroff
Miami is the favorite by 16.5%.
Louisville leads the series 13-8.
Last meeting: February 11, 2023, in Miami; Miami won 93-85.
History of the Series:
Likely Beginning Lineups:
Louisville
G Clark Skyy (6-3, 205, So.)
G Ty-Laur Johnson, Fr., 6-0. 160
G/F Mike James (R-So., 6-5, 200)
F. Jovanovich Danilo (6-8, 220, So.)
F. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (six-ten, twenty-four, junior)
Miami
G Nijel Pack, R-Jr., 6-0, 185
Joseph G. Bensley (6-2, 196, Jr.)
G Matthew Cleveland, Jr., 6-7, 208
George Kyshawn (6–8, 205, Fr.)
F. Norchad Omier, R-Jr., 6-7, 240
Data:
Concerning Miami:
With a squad that is currently enjoying its greatest season in school history, Miami looks to be in a position to finish at the top of the ACC rankings once more.
Three starters from the Final Four team from the previous season are back, but League Player of the Year Isaiah Wong is gone.
The normally guard-focused Hurricanes are leading the way so far this season thanks to frontcourt standout Norchad Omier. In his second year at The U, the transfer from Arkansas State is averaging team-highs in scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg). He is among the early favorites to win ACC Player of the Year based on those stats.
With Wong gone, junior guard Wooga Poplar has embraced his expanded role, almost tripling his scoring average from the previous campaign (8.4 ppg to 16.2 ppg). Poplar hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury during the team’s victory over North Florida on December 29. He was hoping to play the Cardinals on the court again at the time this article was written.
Transfer to Florida State With an average of 15.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his debut season under Jim Larranaga, Matthew Cleveland has excelled. During his tenure as a Seminole, he played three excellent games versus Louisville, scoring at least 13 points in each of them.
Nijel Pack is returning to college for (at least) one more year, and he still possesses the potential to go off for more than thirty on any given evening. The former point guard for Kansas State enters the game on Wednesday night hot from the outside. Out of his last 38 three-point shots, he has made 21 of them. Pack might score a lot this evening against a club that defends the perimeter worse than any other in basketball history, so don’t be surprised if they do.
Miami has been extremely effective as a team when shooting three points this season, ranking first in the US with a 42 percent percentage. The Hurricanes have made 9.5 three-pointers on average per game and have scored ten or more in nine of their 14 games this season. Miami scores 399 points out of 1193, or thirty-three percent, from beyond the arc.
With 80 points or more scored in all but three of its games this season, Miami is among the nation’s top offensive teams overall. Notably, the Hurricanes have scored more than 90 points seven times.
This season, Miami’s weaknesses have been on defense and when playing away from home. Fortunately for them, they get a home game against a squad that struggles mightily on both offense and defense on Wednesday.
Notable:
Currently, Louisville is riding a 22-game losing streak on the road. Since January 2, 2022, the Cardinals have not triumphed over an opponent on their home court.
Kenny Payne, the head coach of Louisville, is 0–20 when his team plays away from the KFC Yum Center.
—Louisville is 2-22 in ACC contests while playing for Payne.
Miami has started the season 9-0 at home.
Miami has defeated Louisville in four straight games, a feat it has never accomplished in the series.
Louisville’s next five games (combined 13-2 in league play) are against the top five teams in the ACC rankings at the moment.
Out of the 29 Division-I head coaches in the nation, Kenny Payne of Louisville and Jim Larrañaga of Miami were selected in the NBA Draft. In 1989, the 76ers selected Payne with the 19th pick, while in 1971, the Pistons selected Larrañaga in the sixth round.
Louisville’s record in its previous 64 games as a program is 12-52.
Starting with the beginning of the 2021–22 season, Miami has won 31 ACC games, second only to Duke’s 32. Miami’s record versus conference opponents when playing at home is 17-5 (.750) throughout that time, good for third place in the ACC behind only Duke (19) and Virginia (18).
—In Jim Larrañaga’s tenure, the Hurricanes are 149–49 (.750) at the Watsco Center. There, the Hurricanes were 95-44 (.683) before Coach L arrived.
Danilo Jovanovich, a sophomore forward from Louisville who has started the last two games, moved from Miami to U of L. As a true freshman, he participated in just one game during the Hurricanes’ run to the NCAA Final Four. Jovanovich played 41 total minutes during U of L’s first 12 games; he has now played 36 total minutes in the last two games.
Miami finished higher in the final ACC standings than it was ranked in the preseason poll nine times out of Jim Larrañaga’s twelve years in the league. It finished several places ahead of its preseason position six times.
When scoring 80 points or more, Louisville is 19-3 over the last three seasons and 222-15 over the previous 20. In these kinds of games this season, the Cards are 3-1.
—Louisville has a 129-0 record when leading by more than ten points at half since 2004.
Louisville has won 162 straight games, keeping the opposition’s point total below 50.
Ken Pomeroy, Louisville 71, and Miami 88 are the predictions.
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