Dwayne Sutton, Brad Brownell, TV Teddy, Ted Valentine Louisville vs. Clemson, 2-16-2019, Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

Cards Head To Clemson To Take On Tigers

Mark BlankenbakerJanuary 11, 2023

Louisville men’s basketball breaks up its homestand Wednesday with an ACC visit to first-place Clemson at 9 p.m. ET. The game will air on Regional Sports Networks (RSN).

The Cardinals most recently fell 80-72 at home to Wake Forest on Saturday after a furious comeback attempt. Clemson edged Pitt 75-74 on the road to stay undefeated in league play and claim sole possession of first place in the conference.

Louisville is 8-4 all-time against Clemson, but just 1-4 on the road. The Cardinals won the last meeting at home on Feb. 19 of last season, breaking a string of two straight victories by the Tigers in the series.

The RSN broadcast group includes Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports Indiana, MASN, NESN and YES Network, with the specific networks carrying each game identified closer to the events. In the Louisville area, Bally Sports South is available on AT&T U-verse channel 1724, DIRECTV channel 646, Spectrum channel 70 and streaming provider DIRECTV STREAM. Games can also be streamed on BallySports.com or the Bally Sports app with authentication using authenticated provider credentials.

GAME 17

Louisville (2-14, 0-5 ACC) at Clemson (13-3, 5-0 ACC)

January 11, 2023 | 9 p.m. ET

Littlejohn Coliseum | Clemson, S.C.

MEDIA INFO

Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship); Streaming (Paul Rogers, pxp | Bob Valvano, analysis)

Watch: Regional Sports Networks; Streaming and TV Clearances (Evan Lepler, pxp | Mike Gminski, analyst)

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

TOP STORYLINES

• Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday. James averaged 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals across two games last week. He had a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds Saturday against Wake Forest and made 9 of 16 total 3-pointers during the week. His 24 points are tied for the second-most by an ACC freshman this season, and they’re the most by a Louisville freshman since V.J. King in 2017. James is only the fifth UofL freshman since 1952 to have a game with at least 24 points and eight rebounds.

• Over the last four outings, Mike James is averaging 15.3 points per game (second-most on the team) while shooting 56% from the field (24 of 43) and 53% from the 3-point line (10 of 19).

• After averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds with two total 3-pointers over the previous four games, redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers has averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds with four 3s in the last two games coming off the bench.

• Over the last seven games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 20.7 points, 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals. As of Monday, Ellis was one of 12 players in the nation with at least 285 points and 75 assists this season. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in six of the last seven games. Over the last three games, he has just eight total turnovers in 112 minutes of game action.

• After averaging 1.7 points and 3.6 rebounds across the first nine games, senior forward Sydney Curry is averaging 9.1 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last seven games while shooting 64% overall. His career-high 19 rebounds against Florida A&M were the most by a Cardinal since Luke Whitehead grabbed 19 boards against Marquette on Jan. 31, 2004.

• Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has made 14 of 20 total shots from the field (70%) in the last four games. He went 9 of 23 from the field (39.1%) combined in the previous four games.

• Louisville’s 70-69 loss to Syracuse on Jan. 3 was its fourth one-point loss of the season, which is the most in a season in UofL history and tied for the most ever by an ACC program – joining 2014-15 Georgia Tech, 2004-05 Florida State and 1970-71 Wake Forest. It was the first one-point loss for the Cardinals since losing their first three games by a single point.

• The Cardinals are 14 games into a 16-game stretch that will see them face 12 teams in the top 90 of the KenPom rankings and 14 teams in the top 165. That stretch began in Maui with Arkansas and concludes Jan. 18 with Pittsburgh. From Maui through the end of the regular season, 19 of Louisville’s 28 opponents rank in the top 90 in KenPom, while 26 of them rank in the top 165 and 12 of them rank in the top 50.

HISTORY VS. CLEMSON (UofL leads 8-4)

Last Meeting: Louisville 70, Clemson 61

Feb. 19, 2022 | Louisville, Ky.

Noah Locke scored 15 points off the bench, Louisville interim coach Mike Pegues picked up his first ACC win, and the Cardinals defeated Clemson 70-61.

The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for Louisville in which six losses were to teams with double-digit wins in the ACC.

Malik Williams scored to put the Cardinals ahead for good, 54-53, with 6:32 remaining. Three of Louisville’s final five baskets were 3-pointers as they finished the game on a 13-5 run. Williams finished with 12 points and Ellis had 11. Jae’Lyn Withers had 10 rebounds for the Cardinals, who improved to 7-0 all-time at home against Clemson.

Al-Amir Dawes scored 18 points, all on 3-pointers, for the Tigers. Naz Bohannon added 11 points and Chase Hunter, the only starter in double figures, scored 10.

Clemson led 31-28 early in the second half before Locke and El Ellis shot four consecutive 3-pointers for Louisville, giving the Cardinals a 40-31 lead. Again, Louisville’s made 3-pointers came in bunches as the Cardinals finished 8 of 29 (27.6%) from 3-point distance.