UC Irvine vs. Louisville: How they match up in the NCAA tournament

WHO: No. 4 Louisville (24-8) vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (21-12).

WHAT: NCAA East regional second-round game, Friday, 1 p.m.

WHERE: Key Arena, Seattle TV: TBS.

UPDATE: Louisville finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks 17th in the latest Associated Press poll. The Cardinals are making their 42nd NCAA appearance and won national titles in 1980, 1986 and 2013. Louisville is 49-9 in the tournament when playing as the higher seed. This will be a matchup of two defensive teams as Louisville allows opponents only 59.5 points per game, 22nd best nationally. The Cardinals don’t shoot the ball well, ranking No. 310 in three-point shooting percentage (30.4%), and have been hurt by the recent dismissal of guard Chris Jones. Junior forward Montrezl Harrell is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.7 points per game and averages 9.5 rebounds. UC Irvine is making its first NCAA tournament appearance after earning the Big West tournament championship with a win over Hawaii. The Anteaters boast 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye, the tallest player in Division I, who averages 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Ndiaye has been back for seven games after missing 10 games because of a foot injury. Irvine also plays tough defense, allowing opponents a school-record low of 62.3 points per game this season. Irvine’s avenue to upset will be making Louisville attempt three-pointers against a zone defense. Keeping Ndiaye out of foul trouble is also key.

STARTERS

LOUISVILLE; Ht; Wt; PPG; P; UC; IRVINE; Ht; Wt; PPG

Wayne Blackshear; 6-5; 215; 10.9; F; Will Davis II; 6-8; 210; 12.9

Montrezl Harrell; 6-8; 240; 15.7; F/G; Travis Souza; 6-5; 210; 7.4

Chinanu Onuaku; 6-10; 230; 3.3; C; Mamadou Ndiaye; 7-6; 300; 10.4

Terry Rozier; 6-1; 190; 17.1; G; Alex Young; 6-1; 185; 9.6

Quentin Snider; 6-1; 180; 3.2; G; Luke Nelson; 6-3; 185; 10.5

RESERVES

LOUISVILLE; Ht; Wt; PPG; P; UC; IRVINE; Ht; Wt; PPG

Anton Gill; 6-3; 195; 2.5; G; Jaron Martin; 5-10; 160; 6.8

Mangok Mathiang; 6-10; 220; 2.6; F/G; Dominique Dunning; 6-4; 206; 4.2

Anas Mahmoud; 7-0; 200; 1.3; F/C; John Ryan; 6-10; 262; 5.5