Who’s Playing
N. Carolina Tar Heels @ Louisville Cardinals
Current Records: N. Carolina 8-5, Louisville 8-5
How To Watch
What to Know
N. Carolina is 8-2 against Louisville since February of 2018, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. Both will face off in an ACC battle at 6:00 p.m. ET at KFC Yum! Center. The Tar Heels are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 86.5 points per game this season.
Last Sunday, N. Carolina wrapped up 2024 with a 97-81 victory over Campbell. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tar Heels.
N. Carolina can attribute much of their success to Ian Jackson, who went 9 for 16 en route to 26 points plus five rebounds, and RJ Davis, who went 7 for 13 en route to 23 points plus five assists. What’s more, Davis also posted a 50% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in March of 2024. Elliot Cadeau was another key player, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 12 assists.
Louisville’s season wasn’t pretty last year but it’s starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, sneaking past 78-76. The overall outcome was as expected, but the Colonels made it much more of a match than the oddsmakers had predicted.
Louisville’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Terrence Edwards Jr., who scored 20 points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of J’Vonne Hadley, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Louisville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eastern Kentucky only pulled down 11.
N. Carolina’s win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-5. As for Louisville, they have been performing well recently as they’ve won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: N. Carolina has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.6 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Louisville struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 38.1. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
N. Carolina is hoping to beat the odds on Wednesday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. They are a gamble against the spread as they sit with a 5-8 ATS record.
Odds
Louisville is a slight 1.5-point favorite against N. Carolina, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Tar Heels as a 1.5-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 164.5 points.
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Series History
N. Carolina has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Louisville.
- Jan 17, 2024 – N. Carolina 86 vs. Louisville 70
- Jan 14, 2023 – N. Carolina 80 vs. Louisville 59
- Feb 21, 2022 – N. Carolina 70 vs. Louisville 63
- Feb 01, 2022 – N. Carolina 90 vs. Louisville 83
- Feb 20, 2021 – N. Carolina 99 vs. Louisville 54
- Feb 22, 2020 – Louisville 72 vs. N. Carolina 55
- Mar 14, 2019 – N. Carolina 83 vs. Louisville 70
- Feb 02, 2019 – N. Carolina 79 vs. Louisville 69
- Jan 12, 2019 – Louisville 83 vs. N. Carolina 62
- Feb 17, 2018 – N. Carolina 93 vs. Louisville 76
