UNC Basketball: Keeping It Heel Staff Picks @ Louisville

The short-handed UNC basketball team looks to bounce back on the road against a struggling Louisville squad.

North Carolina played hard, but couldn’t pull off the road victory at Virginia on Tuesday night without the services of Armando Bacot and Pete Nance.  Both starting Tar Heel bigs are unlikely to play tomorrow, making this game look much more daunting than it did last week.  Can the Heels survive without their starting frontcourt and pick up their first true road win against Louisville on Saturday?  Find out what our staff thinks below.

Nick Delahanty

Let’s be real: I don’t think any of us are fully confident in this game without the presence of Armando Bacot and Pete Nance.

However, I think that, if they can stay out of foul trouble, they should be able to squeeze out a win in this one.

Louisville has struggled this season, but these are the type of teams you can’t take lightly. They have nothing to lose and are playing on their home court. They don’t care who isn’t available for the Tar Heels, their goal is to pull off what would still be considered an upset.

If Caleb Love and RJ Davis are on, the rest of the pieces will fall into place. They’ll need both guards to play smart and take efficient shots. On the other hand, the reserves will need to step up, as I expect to see a ton of Jalen Washington, Justin McKoy, and Puff Johnson.

Hey, the next man-up mentality needs to be in full-effect in this one.

Prediction: North Carolina 78, Louisville 72

Mark DeMott

I am very worried about this game.  Playing against a two-win Louisville team puts the Heels in a position where they really can’t afford a loss, but they will be going up against a team that has nothing to lose without their best player.

The Cardinals have nearly pulled off their first ACC victory a couple of times, and they stayed close on the road at first-place Clemson until the final moments on Wednesday.  For UNC to leave Louisville with a victory, they are going to have to get good games offensively from both RJ Davis and Caleb Love, and they will need to have major contributions from players like Puff Johnson, Jalen Washington, and anyone else who plays off the bench.

I don’t feel confident heading into this one, but my hope is that Carolina’s veteran guards can play well enough to lead the team to a close victory.

Prediction: North Carolina 74, Louisville 69

Aaron Conrad

The Tar Heels enter a game they should win against a very down Louisville team but as is often the case with this team, it might not be that easy.

Reports are that Pete Nance is out and likely Bacot will be too. That leaves Coach Davis with fewer options and even less experience. Jalen Washington showed out the other night versus Virginia but they’re going to need a lot more from him and others to make up for Nance and Bacot. Someone is going to need to score the ball.

I still like UNC but this one might be closer than we think.

Prediction: North Carolina 75, Louisville 68

Spencer Schultz

Even with the likelihood of Armando Bacot and Pete Nance missing this game, UNC should handle business quite easily. Louisville is on track to be one of the worst power-five teams of all-time.

With the two likely absences, Jalen Washington is an obvious player to watch. Beyond him, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of lineups HC Hubert Davis puts out.

Prediction: North Carolina 81, Louisville 65

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC basketball news, updates, and recruiting.