Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. North Carolina

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jan 16, 2024 6:00 AM ET

Louisville (6-10, 1-4 ACC) is set to face North Carolina (13-3, 5-0 ACC) on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 9:00 p.m. EST from the Dean E. Smith Center. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Tar Heels:

- Rankings:

	North Carolina	Louisville
AP/USA TODAY	6th/7th	NR/NR
NET	7th	235th
RPI	7th	273rd
SOS	11th	185th
BPI	12th	235th
KenPom	6th	192nd
Torvik	6th	209th

- Team Leaders:

	North Carolina	Louisville
Points	R.J. Davis (20.4)	Mike James (14.3)
Rebounds	Armando Bacot (10.8)	Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (8.7)
Assists	Elliot Cadeau (3.5)	Ty-Laur Johnson (3.5)
Steals	Two Tied (1.5)	Ty-Laur Johnson (1.1)
Blocks	Armando Bacot (1.8)	Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (0.9)

- Scoring:

	North Carolina	Louisville
Points Per Game	83.8	73.8
Field Goal %	45.4%	43.1%
FGM/FGA Per Game	28.5/62.8	25.1/58.2
Three Point %	35.3%	32.1%
3PTM/3PTA Per Game	7.8/21.9	6.1/19.1
Free Throw %	76.0%	74.6%
FTM/FTA Per Game	19.0/25.0	17.6/23.6

- Rebounding:

	North Carolina	Louisville
Rebounds Per Game	41.1	36.3
Off. Reb. Per Game	12.3	11.1
Def. Reb. Per Game	28.9	25.1
Rebound Margin	6.2	1.4

- Defense:

	North Carolina	Louisville
Opp. Points Per Game	69.5	76.6
Opp. FG%	39.5%	45.8%
Opp. 3P%	28.9%	32.8%
Steals Per Game	6.3	5.5
Blocks Per Game	4.7	3.0
Turnovers Forced Per Game	12.1	12.0

- Ball Handling:

	North Carolina	Louisville
Assists Per Game	14.1	11.6
Turnovers Per Game	10.5	12.5
Turnover Margin	1.6	-0.5
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.3	0.9

- ESPN Prediction: Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Louisville has a 1.8 percent chance to win against North Carolina.

- KenPom Prediction: Per KenPom.com, the Cardinals have a 2 percent chance to take down the Tar Heels, with a projected final score of 89-65 in favor of North Carolina.

- Torvik Prediction: Per BartTorvik.com, the Cardinals have a 2 percent chance to take down the Tar Heels, with a projected final score of 91-66 in favor of North Carolina.

- Personal Prediction: North Carolina 92, Louisville 72.

This article first appeared on Louisville Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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