NC State @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2018 ) Louisville 69, NC State 76

Two ranked teams do battle on Thursday evening when No. 19 North Carolina State visits No. 24 Louisville. The Wolfpack have alternated wins and losses to begin conference play, while the Cardinals have won three straight and four of five to begin their ACC schedule.

N.C. State rebounded from a loss at Wake Forest with a 77-73 win at Notre Dame on Saturday as Devon Daniels hit four key free throws late to secure the win. "Give Devon a lot of credit — he made four really good free throws at the end. [The Fighting Irish] are tough. We knew coming in we had to defend all five positions. We knew coming in we had to defend the 3-point line," Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts told reporters after the win. Louisville cruised to its third win in a row with a 79-51 victory over shorthanded Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Cardinals had no mercy for a Yellow Jackets team that was without three regulars, including two of their top three scorers, as they jumped out to a 43-16 cushion at halftime.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (15-3, 3-2 ACC): Defense fueled Saturday’s win over Notre Dame as the Wolfpack held the Irish to just 7-of-28 from the 3-point line and 24-of-49 overall (40.7 percent). Offensively, N.C. State bounced back from its worst shooting game of the season (37 percent from the floor against Wake Forest two games ago) to shoot 43.5 percent from the floor, including 36.8 percent from long range. Junior guard C.J. Bryce scored a game-high 23 in what Keatts called “his best game in an N.C. State uniform,” while Daniels chipped in with 15.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (13-5, 4-1): Sophomore forward Jordan Nwora — who has improved his scoring average from 5.7 as a freshman to 18.1 this season — had a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting against Georgia Tech while also contributing with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Junior center Steven Enoch added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 20 minutes off the bench, while sophomore center Malik Williams added 13 points in only 16 minutes. The Cardinals simply dominated all aspects of the game, outrebounding the Yellow Jackets 43-33 and forcing 17 turnovers while giving it away just 11 times.

TIP-INS

1. Louisville leads the all-time series 11-10, but N.C. State won last season’s matchup 76-69 in Raleigh.

2. N.C. State is sixth in the nation in scoring offense at 86.7 points per game but hasn’t reached that average in four straight games.

3. Cardinals G Christen Cunningham handed out 11 assists and had no turnovers against Georgia Tech as the Cardinals had a season-high 21 helpers.

PREDICTION: Louisville 76, N.C. State 75