The Louisville Cardinals venture on the road again in Atlantic Coast Conference play Tuesday when they face the Syracuse Orange, with both teams ready to defend winning streaks.
The Cardinals (12-5, 5-1) have won six in a row, the program’s best streak since a 10-game run five years ago. Five players have led or tied to lead the team in scoring over the streak, with Reyne Smith scoring 25 on Saturday in Louisville’s come-from-behind 82-78 victory against the Pitt Panthers.
A native of Australia, Smith leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 61 3-pointers, making seven of his 11 shots from beyond the arc in the win.
The current streak is helping return the program to national prominence after three consecutive losing seasons, and Louisville is doing that with a roster that includes just one returning player, a walk-on from last season’s 8-24 squad.
Speaking during the weekly ACC coaches’ call Monday, first-year coach Pat Kelsey said landing players from winning programs was a key factor as his staff overhauled the roster.
“it’s just a big thing for us in this new age, in the transfer portal era, because it’s very important to be able to mesh your team quickly and build chemistry quickly and build camaraderie and those types of things,” Kelsey said.
It’s been an uneven season for Syracuse (8-8, 2-3). The Orange have won two straight, the last being a 79-71 win Saturday at Boston College. Coach Adrian Autry’s team started 3-0 but has had four two-game skids sandwiched between the two winning streaks.
Injuries have played a factor. JJ Starling, the Orange’s top scorer, is averaging 19.8 points per game but suffered a broken hand that caused him to miss seven games.
“Clearly, before he got hurt, I thought he was playing great basketball,” Autry said after Starling scored 26 points in the win at Boston College. “He’s picked that right back up. He’s everything for this team. He’s our leader, and the team knows it.”
A game after Starling’s return, freshman Donnie Freeman (13.4 ppg, 7.9 rebounds per game) may still be out after having missed the last two games with a foot injury. Autry said on the Monday conference call, per Syracuse.com, that he could have an update on his second-leading scorer’s status later in the day.
–Field Level Media
