Clemson Men’s Basketball visits the Louisville Cardinals

Clemson Men’s Basketball hits the road for another key contest as the Tigers take on the Louisville Cardinals.

This game isn’t key because the two teams are highly-ranked rivals jockeying for seeding in the NCAA tournament. Louisville is untangled at 3-23 overall and 1-14 in league play.

Clemson is unranked as well, but they are in 4th place in the ACC with four games left to play. Two of those games are against ranked opponents. The fourth is against Syracuse, a team that always seems to find a way to play their best ball as they approach March.

Louisville is a game the Tigers should win and needs to win if they hope to keep 4th place in the conference and earn a double-bye in the ACC tournament. Considering their inconsistency of late, there is always the lingering question about which Clemson team will show up.

The Tigers are led in scoring (15.4 per game) and rebounds (9.6 per game) by senior forward Hunter Tyson. Junior guard Chase Hunter leads the team in assists with 4.2 per game and is also contributing 14.1 points per game.

Senior guard El Ellis leads the Cardinals in points (17.6 per game) and assists (4.7 per game). Junior forward Jae’lyn Withers leads the team in rebounds with 5.2 per game.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is a 10.0 point favorite over the Cardinals, with an over/under of 140.5 points

Clemson is a 10.0-point favorite with a total of 140.5 implying a 75.25-65.25 Clemson win.

John Chancey (18-8, 10-16 ATS):

I had conflicting plans Wednesday night, and I must admit I had to ask Marty and the other contributors to Rubbing The Rock if I read the score correctly. I’m hoping that was the ‘get right’ game. Playing on the road has been a challenge for the Tigers lately, so I don’t expect a repeat performance but I do think they win by double digits.

Marty Coleman (18-8, 10-16 ATS):

After 26 games we’ve finally figured out the NET: Shoot 60% from the field and crush teams and you move up.  It’s not about wins and losses so much as efficiency.  The good news for Clemson is this Louisville team is one that can be had.  The bad news is shooting 60% against air is hard, so it won’t be a walk in the park.

Can the Tigers stand prosperity?  My gut says the performance we saw Wednesday is difficult to replicate, especially on the road.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change