No. 24 Louisville carries ‘belief’ into clash vs. familiar foe SMU
CHARLOTTE -- There might not be many secrets when SMU and No. 24-ranked Louisville meet Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
The clash will mark the third between the teams in less than 1 1/2 months.
The Cardinals (22-9), who hold the tournament's sixth seed, are looking to generate momentum after a late-February slump temporarily knocked them out of the national rankings.
No. 11 seed SMU (20-12) topped 14th-seeded Syracuse 86-69 in a first-round game Tuesday.
"It was a win that we surely needed, and we expect to play well (Wednesday) as well," SMU coach Andy Enfield said.
The Mustangs and Cardinals had a rarity with two regular-season meetings, with each side winning at home. Louisville won 88-74 on Jan. 31, and SMU prevailed 95-85 in the rematch Feb. 17.
"We've been the two highest-scoring teams in the league this year," Enfield said. "We have to come out and we have to score the ball against them, and also defend a little bit."
Louisville, which won its last two regular-season games, holds the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament for the first time.
"It's nice to get a win going into conference tournament play," Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey said, referring to his team knocking off a nationally ranked Miami team 92-89 on Saturday. "There's a lot of belief in that locker room. I'm excited about what's to come."
Last March, the Cardinals won two ACC tournament games for the first time, advancing to the championship game before losing to Duke.
For the Mustangs, a four-game losing streak to close the regular season might have knocked them out of NCAA Tournament contention, but they're trying to gain the favor of the selection committee.
"We know what's at stake," Enfield said. "I think (Tuesday) to me it looked like an NCAA Tournament team."
Boopie Miller is SMU's leading scorer at an average of 19.5 points per game, and Jaron Pierre Jr. is next at 17.6. Both players hit five 3-point shots in the Syracuse game.
"He's very streaky, and when he gets it going, he's fun to watch," Enfield said of Pierre. "So we just need that consistency out of him here starting (Wednesday)."
The Mustangs will be tested in terms of energy. For the first time this season, SMU didn't receive any points from reserves in Tuesday's game.
Louisville entered the week rated fourth nationally in 3-point baskets per game with 11.9. The Cardinals are coming off their first road victory against a ranked opponent in six years when they capped the regular season by defeating Miami.
Louisville's Ryan Conwell was voted to the All-ACC second team, and teammate Mikel Brown Jr. is a third-team choice.
One key for the Cardinals could be the health of reserve Aly Khalifa, who was battling a weekend illness but still managed a five-assist, no-turnover effort in 11 minutes at Miami.
Kelsey, in his second season with the Cardinals, is one victory away from his 50th win at Louisville.