Louisville basketball: Wisconsin preview, predictions

Louisville basketball hits the road to face a tough Wisconsin team on Saturday. Let’s preview the Badgers and assess UofL’s chance of grabbing a W.

After an 18 day layoff, Louisville basketball will finally suit up for a game when the Cardinals travel to Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday. Louisville will face the Wisconsin Badgers for only the second time ever in a delayed ACC/ Big Ten Challenge matchup.

Louisville’s trip to Madison will be its first ever at Wisconsin, and the first game the Cardinals will play in the state of Wisconsin since a loss to Marquette in 2012.

Let’s take a look at this Wisconsin basketball team to gain a better understanding of what the Cards are up against.

Wisconsin roster littered with experience

While Louisville is young, fielding a roster of mostly freshmen and sophomores, Wisconsin is one of the more experienced teams in college basketball.

The Badgers start four seniors, including three redshirt seniors. Head coach Greg Gard has been in Madison for five seasons, and his first two recruiting classes are now talented and extremely dangerous.

Redshirt senior D’Mitrik Trice leads the Badgers from the point guard spot where he is a consistent playmaker. He averaged 9.8 points, 4.2 assists, and 4 boards last year, and is already averaging 12 points and 3.5 assists in 2020.

Next to Trice in the backcourt is glue guy, senior Brad Davison. The 6’4″ guard is averaging 10.8 points so far this season. Davison is a career 35 percent three-point shooter but is only shooting 31 percent from deep so far this year.

Upfront, the Badgers present a lot of problems for Louisville basketball. Senior forward Nate Reuvers is an absolute problem, and much of what the Badgers do is going to go through him. Through three seasons, he is already fourth in school history in blocks and is swatting away 2.2 per game this season.

Next to Reuvers, 6’10” Micah Potter leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Both Potter and Reuvers are outstanding from deep, averaging 47 percent and 53 percent respectively beyond the arc this season.

Louisville basketball and Wisconsin share similarities stylistically

While the Wisconsin roster is deep and experienced, their style of play and results thus far are quite similar to Louisville’s.

Obviously, Louisville basketball has struggled with depth this season, and thusly, the Cards have not tried to push the ball. The Badgers take a similar approach. Wisconsin averages 69.6 possessions per game, while Louisville averages 67.3.

Keeping with the theme of similar styles of play, Louisville and Wisconsin both force exactly 12.5 turnovers per game. Bucky averages 77.7 points per game; The Cards average 77.8 points per game. Wisconsin holds opponents to 59.8 points per game; Louisville holds opponents to 58 points per game. According to KenPom.com, Wisconsin has played the 189th-toughest schedule in the country. Ken Pom says Louisville has played the 226th-toughest schedule.

You get the point. Although it’s for different reasons, both squads play at a similar pace and figure to match up well with each others.

Health is the X-factor

In true 2020 fashion, the biggest factor in this game for both teams with be health.

In his Thursday presser, Mack said that Louisville will have either 7 or 8 scholarship players available. This comes on the heels of members of the team and/ or staff testing positive for COVID-19. There have been rumors circulating that a key piece in the Louisville rotation may have to sit out due to COVID protocol. However, it appears that all scholarship players have arrived safely in Wisconsin.

Perhaps there is protocol in place that will force a couple of Cards to still sit out. Maybe there is an injury that has been kept under wraps. If that is the case, Louisville could be in for a long night.

Predictions

If Louisville was fielding the same group of guys that we saw in the last outing against Western Kentucky, I would feel pretty confident. The Cardinals add Samuell Williamson back to the starting lineup and will be well-rested.

With that said, the Cardinals are, in a sense, completely restarting the season. This is uncharted territory for Louisville, not getting to play or even practice together, for over a week. On top of that, when the team was back together, practices took place in small groups. Surmise it to say that getting back into the swing of things may be a shock to the system.

Add in the fact that Louisville may be without a couple of players, and you have a recipe for a long night in Madison. However, if the Cardinals can pull this thing out without Malik Williams, Charles Minlend, Josh Nickelberry, and 1-2 unnamed key contributors, this could be the start of a season to remember.

Presley Meyer

Louisville 57, Wisconsin 70

Jacob Lane

Louisville 61, Wisconsin 79

Matt McGavic

Louisville 69, Wisconsin 71

Alex Stengel

Louisville 65, Wisconsin 74