Louisville basketball will look to make it two in a row against Big East foe, Seton Hall.
Basketball has officially returned in the 502 as the Louisville basketball program took the floor in a new look, COVID restricted KFC Yum! Center on Wednesday afternoon, putting to rest any chance of a second upset win in the Commonwealth for the Evansville Purple Aces.
No one really knew what to expect from the new look Louisville basketball program, even in a battle against a mismatched mid-major program, but what they got what was a pleasant surprise and a great start to the 2020-21 season.
Behind a combined 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists from newcomer graduate transfer and potential All-American, Carlik Jones and sophomore swingman Samuell Williamson, the Cards looked like a team further along than what was expected early on. As Presley Meyer pointed out in his post-game recap, there was a lot to like about what Louisville did in the 79-44 victory.
From top to bottom Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack was able to get solid contributions from just about every one in the rotation, including freshmen Dre Davis and JJ Traynor who pitched in six and 11 points respectively, as well as returning sophomores Quinn Slazinski and Aidan Igiehon.
Even without much to speak of from David Johnson, who struggled to get any type of rhythm throughout the game due to getting into early foul trouble, Louisville was sensational offensively and did a great job of taking easy shots away from Evansville on the other end. Shooting 58% from the field and 37% from the three point line, the Cards were able to get just about anything they wanted but did a great job of moving the rock in attempt to find an open man.
Now as Louisville closes the book on the much anticipated season opener, they’ll turn their full focus to their second opponent, Seton Hall, who should present a much tougher matchup than they got from Evansville.
Louisville basketball will face a new look Seton Hall
Though the program has been on a full pause the last few weeks due to a positive COVID test, former Louisville basketball assistant head coach Kevin Willard will bring his team to the KFC Yum! Center looking for a win in their season debut.
The Pirates have been one of the toughest teams in the country each of the last few seasons behind the dominant scoring of 2019 Big East Player of the Year, Myles Powell. Fortunately for Louisville, they won’t have to deal with guarding one of the top scorers in college basketball as he’s officially now a professional after signing with the Knicks.
Much like with Mack and Louisville, Willard and company are looking to overcome the loss of their top player(s) and forge a new identity with a young team. Despite not having Powell as well as other key contributors from last year’s team like Romaro Gill (7’0 center), and Quincy McKnight (11.9 ppg in 2019), Willard’s squad does return their leading front court scorer in Sandro Manukelashvili who will present a tough and unique matchup for the young front court of Louisville as well as a dynamic guard duo in Myles Cale (former four-star recruit) and Jared Rhoden.
They’ll be joined by incoming transfer and former Harvard standout, Bryce Aiken as well as another transfer who will be making his debut as a Pirate in Takal Molson, formerly of Canisius.
There are lot of intruiging pieces for Seton Hall, much like there are for Louisville, but the question will be how does it all fit together and how soon does it take to click?
As mentioned, Louisville will catch Seton Hall off of a 14-day program pause which should make things even more interesting. We know Willard will have his team mentally ready to play, but it will be fascinating to see just how much impact being off for that long will have on a young team.
What to expect from Seton Hall
Since making the jump to Seton Hall, Kevin Willard’s programs have been known for their ability to score the basketball. While they’ll have to figure out what life looks like without Myles Powell, there will be no shortage of options when it comes to who will step up to fill the void.
As mentioned, Seton Hall’s backcourt will be made up of two transfer guards in Molson and Aiken, both of whom have proven the ability to score at a very high clip at lower levels of D1 basketball. After staring at Harvard for three and a half seasons, Aiken was one of the biggest transfer pickups of the offseason. The former 2x All-First Team Ivy League player brings scoring, toughness, leadership, and much more to the floor and will be a huge help in getting the team to play together, despite never having done so before.
Alongside of Aiken, he’ll be joined by combo guards and wings Jared Rhoden, Myles Cale, and Takal Molson, all of whom stand at 6’5 or 6’6. Defensively, Seton Hall hasn’t been one of the better teams in recent years, but they’ve always had a bevy of long and athletic wings who make things challenging for an opposing offense. Against Evansville there was no one who could contain Carlik Jones or Samuell Williamson off the dribble, but that won’t be the case against Seton Hall. Look for Molson, Rhoden, Cale, and others like Shavar Reynolds, and incoming freshman Dimingus Stevens to make it a priority to limit dribble penetration and force the Cards to be a jump shooting team.
While Seton Hall doesn’t have a proven, traditional big man they will look to get Sandro Mamukelashvili easy buckets both around the rim and from behind the three point line. At 6’11, 240 pounds Mamukelashvili will present an extremely tough challenge for JaeLyn Withers, JJ Traynor, and Aidan Igiehon thanks to his ability to move around the floor, stroke it from deep, and use his size to score and rebound around the rim. Willard will also be looking to work in former Florida State transfer and seven footer Ike Obiagu, who will be looking to fill the shot blocking role of Gill from a year ago.
Louisville will need to push Mamukelashvili away from the three point line, much like they did with Evansville big Evan Kuhlman (forced him to go 2-5 from three) and do a great job of getting back to him in pick and roll or pick and pop situations. Look for Seton Hall to put him in a lot of pick and roll with Aiken. 100% percent this is the matchup that Seton Hall will look to exploit.
Defensively Seton Hall was a middle of the road team in 2020 but their full court press and ability to play a 2-3 zone will present a very new, and unique challenge to the Cards squad.
What to expect from Louisville basketball
Louisville did a good job on both ends of the floor against Evansville, but will obviously have to take it to another level if they’ll want to keep Seton Hall at bay. It will start with Carlik Jones, who will once again be relied upon to provide the scoring for Louisville, especially against a much more challenging defense.
Seton Hall will spend a lot of time focusing on packing the paint to make sure that neither Jones nor David Johnson is able to get momentum with attacking the basket. Instead, they’ll look to force Louisville into tough, contested jumpers from behind the three point line, something that could be a big weakness for this team.
Mack has a lot of experience in going up against Willard from their Big East days so you best believe there will be a strong game plan to keep the Cards from living and dying by the three, something they’ve done far too much over his first two seasons. Without Malik Williams in the lineup, it’ll be much tougher for Louisville to get paint touches, but look for them to try and get the ball into Withers who does have an athletic advantage of Mamukelashvili in attempt to open things up.
With a four-guard lineup, Seton Hall will be looking to attack the pack line defense of Louisville with all of the new and young pieces in play. The Cards did a good job defensively against Evansville, especially when it came to switches and rotations. It’ll obviously be much tougher to keep Rhoden, Cale, and Aiken out of the lane, but with the length and athleticism the Cards have in the roster, I think we may walk away surprised at their defensive capabilities when it’s all said and over.
A lot of focus is going to be on stopping Aiken and Mamukelashvili, and deservedly so, but if Louisville isn’t careful they could give opportunities to a much more balanced Seton Hall team. Molson, Rhoden, Cale, amongst others are all capable of having big nights, and it will be crucial for the young players of Louisville to come into the game with that understanding.
