ACC Tournament: SMU vs No. 24 Louisville Preview, Odds, Predictions (March 11)

• The Mustangs took down Syracuse in the first round.
• The Cardinals got a bye to the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
• This marks the 14th all-time matchup between the two ACC squads.

The ACC Tournament keeps progressing throughout the March 11 schedule as the SMU Mustangs take on the No. 24 Louisville Cardinals. The latter comes out as the slight favorite, presenting a chance for SMU to pull off an upset as both teams compete for their place in the quarterfinals.

How to Watch

• When: Wednesday, March 11, 2:30 pm ET
• Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
• How to Watch: ACC Network

NCAA Matchup Odds & Lines

Game Preview

The Mustangs (20-12, 8-10 ACC) ended a four-game losing streak as they took down Syracuse in the first round of the conference tournament. They are near the top of the ACC in scoring offense (85.0, 2nd ACC, 20th NCAA), assists (17.1, 3rd ACC, 30th NCAA), fastbreak points (12.2, 1st ACC, 87th NCAA), field-goal percentage (49.3%, 3rd ACC, 22nd NCAA), 3-point percentage (37.8%, 2nd ACC, 23rd NCAA). Boopie Miller had 25 points against the Orange, his 39th consecutive game in double figures. Meanwhile, Jaden Toombs had 16 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the first Mustang with a double-double at halftime (14 points and 11 rebounds) since 2022.

The Cardinals (22-9, 11-7 ACC) finished in the upper bracket of the conference standings, having a strong campaign with Pat Kelsey as their head coach. Louisville is fourth in the nation in three-pointers per game (11.9), fifth in three-point attempts per game (32.7), 16th in scoring margin (13.4), 17th in scoring offense (85.8), 18th in effective field goal percentage (.568) and 20th in assists per game (20). Ryan Conwell is seventh in three-point attempts (288) and 13th in three-pointers per game (3.4). Conwell was named Second Team All-ACC while freshman Mikel Brown Jr. was named Third Team All-ACC and tapped to the All-Rookie Team.

SMU vs Louisville Head-to-Head

The two programs have had 13 meetings in their history, and the result is 10-3 for the Cardinals. The last matchup was in February this year when SMU won 95-85 at home.

SMU vs Louisville Predictions

The winner of Wednesday’s tilt will advance to the quarterfinals and face third-seeded Miami on Thursday, March 12, at 2:30 p.m. ET. SMU hopes to have big games from Boopie Miller and Jaden Toombs to be competitive with Louisville. However, if they can’t contain Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely on the perimeter, then the Cardinals will look forward to moving on to the next round. Our betting pick here is the Cardinals to defend a 6.5-point spread.

• Free NCAAB pick: Louisville Cardinals -6.5