For the first time all season, Louisville has dropped two straight games and they are hoping to avoid making it three. The Cardinals sit comfortably in the No. 2 spot, but are in serious need of getting back on track if they are going to finish a strong regular season run and head into the postseason. Louisville will get a major boost as Chris Jones returns from suspension, but the Cardinals are preparing to face a Miami Hurricanes team who is motivated against top opponents on the road.
The suspension of Jones caused the team to drop back-to-back games. The guard was suspended after the Cardinals lost at home to North Carolina State. However, not having the senior on the floor caused them to also fall to Syracuse, getting outscored 41.27 in the second half. Jones was out for violating team rules, but is expected to return against Miami.
Louisville needs Jones. The senior is ranked third on the team with 13.6 points per game while averaging 16.6 in the previous seven games before getting suspended. During the stretch, he put up 16 points and eight rebounds and six steals against the Hurricanes in a road win. Terry Rozier also add 22 poinys for the team. Rozier is currently the team leader in points with 18.0 per game and has been impressive for most of this season.
The Cardinals cannot afford to overlook the unranked Hurricanes who are hoping to get their second upset-win on the road over a top ranked team. Miami's biggest resume boost was their beating of Duke on the road which gave the team a lot of confidence going forward. They have dropped games against weaker teams like Eastern Kentucky, but certainly have to opportunity to get up for a big game.
The Hurricanes will stick with a smaller lineup around Louisville. Davon Reed, Sheldon McClellan, James Palmer and Angel Rodriguez will get the start in order to prevent the Cardinals from sticking to shooting the three. In their first meeting, Louisville went 4 of 15 from 3-point range and are shooting just 30 percent from long range against the Hurricanes. They will need to improve that to win.