Russ Smith and Luke Hancock may be gone, but Rick Pitino still has at his disposal a top five player in Montrezl Harrell. And judging by how things are going early in the season, Harrell’s presence looks like all the Louisville Cardinals need to be a force to reckon with again, even given that the Cards are now playing in a tougher conference, the ACC.
The No.7 Cardinals are three games away from facing another ranked team, but they can’t afford to overlook the teams they have to tackle first before squaring off with No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes on December 2. We’ve seen a couple of upsets this early in the season, and the Cardinals don’t have plans of joining that list when they take on the undefeated but lightly tested, Marshall Thundering Herd this coming Friday.
Speaking of upsets, the St. Louis Rams, who are coming off a shocking win over the Denver Broncos in Week 11, are looking for another victory when they visit the San Diego Chargers for an interesting matchup on Sunday. You can read a preview of that game here.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Louisville Cardinals Betting Preview
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
When: Friday, November 21, 10:00PM ET
Line: Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Louisville Cardinals – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Marshall Thundering Herd
The Thundering Herd are 3-0 to start to the season, but all those wins were against teams that barely tested their mettle. In their last game, the team mopped the floor with West Virginia Tech Golden Bears, easily winning the game, 87-65. The victory sets the Thundering Herd up for their first true test this season, a showdown with ACC powerhouse Louisville.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Ryan Taylor has been Marshall’s top scorer thus far this season. The sophomore forward is averaging 18.0 PPG on an exceptional 67.7 field goal percentage. Against the Golden Bears, Taylor put up a game-high 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field. As prolific as Taylor has been three games into the season, he’s likely not going to put up those numbers against Louisville. Taylor will play with a target on his back this coming Friday.
Fortunately for the Thundering Herd, they have a lot of options on offense aside from Taylor. Senior forward Cheikh Sane and sophomore guard Austin Loop have been dependable scorers for Marshall, too. Sane is scoring 10.7 PPG and is also the team’s leading rebounder with 10.7 boards per game. He’ll play a key role in limiting the Cardinals advantage in rebounding. Loop, meanwhile, is Marshall’s designated sharpshooter.
The sophomore guard is averaging 12.0 PPG, mainly as a three-point shooter. Loop has 10 triples on an impressive 62.5% shooting from beyond the arc so far this season. Marshall is going to need their threes to fall against the Cardinals, whose size will make life hard for the Thundering Herd’s cutters and big men alike. Marshall is the best three-point shooting team in Conference USA with nine triples made per game.
The Thundering Herd are 2-0 ATS in their only two meetings with Louisville.
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Betting on the Louisville Cardinals
Montrezl Harrell’s decision to play one more year in Cardinals uniform has greatly softened the impact of Smith and Hancock’s departure. Sure, there’s a ton of pressure on Harrell, but he shook it all off in the team’s season opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on November 14. In that game, Harrell played like a beast, scoring 30 points (9-for-12 FG) and hauling in seven boards. Harrell is the team’s leader in points and rebounds with averages of 22.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG. He’s going to be handful for the Thundering Herd, who’ll likely throw an extra defender at him in the post.
Harrell, though, has an excellent supporting cast from the starting unit down to the relievers. Guard Terry Rozier has played well as Smith’s replacement, averaging 15.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. Chris Jones, meanwhile, is another player tasked to level up his performance this season. The senior guard is averaging 11.5 PPG to go along with 4.0 APG.
Sophomore center Mangok Mathiang, on the other hand, has been a spark off the bench for Louisville. He’s not much of a scorer (5.5 PPG), but he sustains the Cardinals’ dominance beneath the glass (7.0 RPG) whenever he gives Harrell a breather. The Cardinals are 18th in the nation in rebounding so far this season, averaging 48.5 RPG.
The Cardinals are 9-1 SU/7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as the home team.
Writer’s Prediction
Louisville wins, 76-40.
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