Louisville basketball ends a 16-day pause when they host Syracuse on Wednesday. Previewing the Cards and Orange.
Louisville basketball took care of business against an underrated Georgia Tech team its last time out.
However, in 2021 fashion, as soon as the Cards put together a solid performance, they were sidelined once again with another COVID-19 outbreak.
Wednesday will mark day 16 of the Cardinals second pause of the season. Although the Cards will have head coach Chris Mack- who self-isolated for 10 days- they will be without two unknown scholarship players.
Can Louisville basketball push through and notch a crucial conference victory, or will this layoff turn out similarly to the last one?
Who: Syracuse at Louisville
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
When: Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 at 6:30 PM
How to Watch: ACC Network (Mike Couzens and Jordan Cornette)
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) (Sirius channel 135, XM 193, Internet 955)
Series History: UofL leads 19-10 (10-4 in Louisville, 4-6 in Syracuse, 5-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 90, Syracuse 66 (Feb. 19, 2020 in KFC Yum! Center)
Spread Check: Louisville -5 (uhh, does Vegas know something?)
Uniform Check: Louisville is 35-0 under Chris Mack wearing “traditional” white jerseys in regular-season games (36-1 overall)
❄️ place like home #GoCards pic.twitter.com/hkTUSd2HjD
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 16, 2021
Syracuse is Syracuse
For anyone that has been watching Jim Boeheim and Syracuse basketball over the last four decades, not much has changed.
Syracuse has long guards who shoot it well and get to the basket. They have solid rebounding bigs. They run the same, reliable 2-3 zone. Rinse. Repeat.
The Orange do what they do. It’s not fair to any team to see if you’ve seen one year’s version of said team, you’ve seen them all. However, stylistically, beating Syracuse is the same game plan as it has always been.
For Louisville basketball and Chris Mack, perhaps the code has been cracked. After Mack’s first two attempts resulted in defeats to the Orange, a meeting with Denny Crum last year helped him implement an effective offense against Cuse.
This year’s team is a far cry from having the talent and depth of last year’s squad. However, the point remains that Mack laid out a game plan that worked in 2020. It led to a 90-66 win for the Cards.
Louisville basketball still has some pieces capable of dissecting the Syracuse D and slowing their offense.
Can Samuell Williamson continue his great play?
Louisville basketball forward Samuell Williamson has been hit or miss this season. But, of late, his “off games” have been a little better, and when he turns it on, he has been playing the best basketball of his career.
Against Georgia Tech, Williamson recorded the most rebounds, 18, off the bench of any player in school history. He coupled his tenacity on the boards with a stellar scoring game, going 7 of 13 from the field for 20 points.
If there is a team that Williamson has a chance to replicate that against, maybe it’s Syracuse. The aforementioned game plan? It figures to feature a heavy dose of Williamson in the middle of that 2-3 zone.
Williamson is UofL’s best mid-range player in recent memory. If he can find the soft spots in that zone and force Syracuse to collapse on him, it will really free up the Louisville basketball offense.
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Match-up to watch: Carlik Jones vs. Joseph Girard III
Carlik Jones had a “quiet” game in Louisville’s last outing. The graduate transfer guard only scored 12 points, but he dished out 8 assists.
This may be an anomaly, but it feels like more teams are going to try to take the ball out of Jones’ hands and force him to facilitate. Jones showed that he can be a force even if it’s not in the scoring department.
Jones is likely to be more of a facilitator once again against the Orange on Wednesday. Where he may really be needed is against versatile point guard Joseph Girard III. The Sophomore is growing into his role in Syracuse, averaging 10 points and four assists.
While his teammates are extremely long for their positions, Girard is closer in size to Jones.
Predictions
Tanner Hickman: Louisville 71, Syracuse 60
Ethan Sprowles: Louisville 69, Syracuse 61
Presley Meyer: Louisville 61, Syracuse 66
Spencer Brown: Louisville 64, Syracuse 61
Jacob Lane: Louisville 58, Syracuse 62
Alan Thomas: Louisville 64, Syracuse 61
Matt McGavic: Louisville 72, Syracuse 69
