ACC action pits Tigers against Cardinals

Jan 7, 2015 - 3:30 PM Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - The fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals will play their first-ever ACC home game on Wednesday evening, as they welcome the Clemson Tigers to the KFC Yum! Center for a non-conference matchup.

Brad Brownell's Tigers opened league play at home this past weekend and were routed by North Carolina, 74-50. The loss halted a brief two-game win streak for Clemson and dropped the team to 8-5 on the season overall.

Rick Pitino's Cardinals have just one loss on the season and that came against rival Kentucky (58-50) on Dec. 27. Louisville has strung together two straight wins since then and moved to 13-1 on the year with an 85-76 road win at Wake Forest on Sunday, the team's first-ever ACC game.

This marks the first meeting between these two teams since the 2006 NIT. Louisville won that matchup, 74-68 and has won all three of the meetings in series history.

North Carolina invaded Littlejohn Coliseum this past weekend and took Clemson and the crowd right out of the game, by running out to a 39-17 halftime lead. The Tigers shot just .179 from the floor in the first half, upped it to .400 over the final 20 minutes, but was unable to make a real comeback bid. Not much went right for the Tigers offensively, as Jaron Blossomgame and Damarcus Harrison accounted for nearly half of the scoring, with 13 and 11 points, respectively. UNC held a huge 49-30 edge in rebounding and outscored the Tigers in the paint, 34-12.

Clemson doesn't play teams away with gaudy offensive numbers. Rather, the team usually employs strong defense to earn wins. On the season, the Tigers are allowing just 62.6 ppg and still holding foes under 40 percent shooting (.397). Blossomgame is the top playmaker on the roster. The 6-foot-7 sophomore tops the team in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg). Harrison (11.0 ppg) is next in the scoring column, followed closely by Donte Grantham (10.2 ppg). Landry Nnoko (9.3 ppg) and Rod Hall (9.3 ppg) round out the starting five.

Louisville will surely test Clemson at both ends of the floor, as the team enjoys an impressive +19.1 scoring margin to date. The offensive numbers are modest at 74.9 ppg, but the defense has been stellar, with the Cardinals limiting foes to just 55.7 ppg on well under 40 percent shooting (.362). The team boasts of a potent inside/out game spearheaded by guard Terry Rozier and forward Montrezl Harrell. Rozier has played extremely well of late and currently leads the team in scoring at 17.1 ppg. Harrell is regarded as one of the nation's premier players. He is shooting just over 60 percent from the floor and is averaging a near double-double with 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Wayne Blackshear (12.6 ppg) and Chris Jones (12.1 ppg) have played key roles as well.

Louisville shot a cool 50 percent from the floor in their first-ever ACC tilt and were able to hold off the Demon Deacons on Sunday as a result. Harrell was unstoppable, as the 6-8 junior recorded a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Jones completed the feat as well, pouring in 22 points and doling out 10 assists. Rozier was heard from as well, finishing with 18 points, while freshman Shaqquan Aaron chipped in 11 off the bench.