Louisville vs Clemson Picks and Odds

• Clemson is a 1.5-point home favorite over Louisville on Wednesday in an ACC game at Littlejohn Coliseum
• Clemson is on a three-game losing streak and its average margin of defeat has been 24 points
• The odds, lines and spread for Louisville-Clemson can be found below with analysis

Clemson will try to snap out of a deep funk when it hosts Louisville in an ACC game at 9:00 pm ET Wednesday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson has lost three in a row and been blown out in each game to fall to 9-4 overall and 3-4 in the ACC. The Tigers have also been the losing side against the spread in their last five games yet is favored in this one.

While Clemson has fallen out of the national rankings, Louisville (10-3, 5-2) moved back into the Associated Press media poll this week at #25 after beating Duke 70-65 on Saturday at home to end a two-game losing streak.

Louisville vs Clemson Odds

Odds taken Jan. 26 from FanDuel.

Jones Lifts Louisville

Senior Carlik Jones is one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which goes to the nation’s top point guard. Jones showed why he is so highly regarded in the win over Duke, a game in which Louisville was favored by two points.

Jones led Louisville with 24 points, 19 coming in the second. He also scored the Cardinals’ last nine points, including a layup with 1:18 remaining that put them ahead for good 66-65.

1️⃣9️⃣ of his 2️⃣4️⃣ points in the second half.

Our last 9️⃣ points over the final 3:44.@CarlikJones is 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁. pic.twitter.com/celRkpKkSt

— Louisville Men's Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) January 24, 2021

Jones is third in the ACC in both scoring (18.4 points a game) and assists (4.8). He is also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals while his 86.3 offensive rating is one of the best in the nation.

Freshman forward Jae’Lyn Withers added 13 points as he continues to take steps forward in his initial college season. He is averaging 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds and has a 65.3 effective field goal percentage and 66.7 true shooting percentage.

Sophomore David Johnson scored 12 points and freshman wing Dre Davis chipped in with 11 points. Johnson is having a fine all-round season with averages of 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists along with a team-best 86.8 offensive rating.

I also thought David Johnson had a great, understated game against Duke yesterday. Went for 12/8/5/2/1, but his impact was better. Made a few flat-out ridiculous passes, and L’ville switched him onto Matt Hurt late and he did a great job in denial and contesting. Top-20 guy, IMO. pic.twitter.com/ba0rDfgk8J

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 25, 2021

Louisville made 18 of 24 free throws while Duke went seven for nine at the line.

Clemson in Major Funk

Clemson’s 80-61 loss at Florida State on Saturday as 6.5-point underdogs continued its skid. The ease with which the Seminoles won seemed a surprise to even them.

NOLES WIN! @FSUHoops fans checking the score like 😲 pic.twitter.com/zKlK3u0rBX

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) January 23, 2021

Clemson was 9-1 before an 11-day break because of COVID-19 protocols in its program. The Tigers have not only lost all three games since returning but all have been by double digits and their average margin of defeat has been 24 points.

Clemson’s defense is still ranked 20^th in the nation in adjusted efficiency according to Ken Pom.com. However, the Tigers have allowed an average of 82.7 points during the skid and opponents are making 53% of their 3-point attempts.

Against Florida State, Clemson shot just 30.4% (17 of 56) overall and 16.7% (five of 30) on 3-point tries. The Tigers had more turnovers (seven) than field goals (four) in the first half as it fell behind 24-9 with 9:16 to go and 42-24 by intermission.

Junior guard John Newman III was the lone bright spot with 12 points. It marked his second straight game in double figures after reaching them only once in the first 10 games.

John Newman III, POSTER TIME 😤 pic.twitter.com/vtM5L9SBM8

— ESPN (@espn) January 15, 2020

Senior forward Aamir Simms is the lone player with a double-digit scoring average at 11.7. He is also averaging 5.6 rebounds.

Hastily Arranged Game

This game was originally set to be played March 4 but was moved up after Louisville’s scheduled game with Boston College on Wednesday was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Eagles’ program.

Louisville and Clemson split two games last season with each winning on its home floor. The Cardinals notched an 80-62 victory as 10-point favorites and the Tigers pulled a 77-62 upset as 4.5-point underdogs.

Newman had 23 points and Simms added 13 points and six assists in Clemson’s win. Johnson had a good performance in a losing effort with 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

While the oddsmakers favor Clemson is this meeting, the play here is to fade the struggling Tigers.

Pick: Louisville +1.5 (-118)