Louisville @ Clemson preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 25, 2020 ) Clemson 62, Louisville 80

Fifth-ranked Louisville will attempt to bounce back from its first loss in well over a month when it visits Clemson for an ACC showdown Saturday afternoon. With the ACC's leading scorer Jordan Nwora (18.8) held to a season-low two points, the Cardinals fell 64-58 at Georgia Tech on Wednesday to see their conference lead shrink to a half-game over Duke.

"The first four minutes, we looked like zombies," Louisville coach Chris Mack told reporters after his team dug an early 12-2 hole and eventually saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end. "We didn't have the readiness or toughness or excitement to play. From that point on, we were battling uphill the whole game." Louisville shot a season-low 33.9 percent from the floor in the loss while making 3-of-24 from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 10-of-21 from long range in an 18-point win over Clemson at home earlier in the season, a result that kicked off a 1-4 swoon for the Tigers. That slump ended with a 72-52 win at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, as Clemson posted its most lopsided victory since Dec. 20.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (21-4, 12-2 ACC): Nwora was part of a starting five that combined to produce 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting in the loss to Georgia Tech. Junior forward Malik Williams and freshman guard David Johnson helped out with 16 points apiece off the bench to boost their scoring averages to 8.5 and 5.9, respectively. Senior forward Dwayne Sutton is the team's top rebounder (8.4) after grabbing 10 to go along with nine points in Wednesday's loss.

ABOUT CLEMSON (12-12, 6-8): The Tigers shot 35.7 percent or worse in each game during their three-game slide before hitting half of their 44 shots - 13-of-22 from 3-point distance - in the win at Pitt. "Certainly we don't shoot it like that, and when you do it makes the game a lot easier," coach Brad Brownell told the media. "Makes you look like a better coach." Guards Al-Amir Dawes and Tevin Mack led the way by combining for 34 points while making 7-of-10 from 3-point range between them, a nice development for a team that ranks 10th in the ACC in percentage from beyond the arc (31.8).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Williams has at least 11 points in three straight games after being held to single digits in his previous three.

2. Tigers junior F Aamir Simms leads his team in points (13.3), rebounds (7.2), steals (1.1) and blocks (0.8).

3. Clemson has won its only two home games against Louisville since the Cardinals joined the ACC in 2014-15.

PREDICTION: Louisville 65, Clemson 63