Louisville Cardinals (Overall: 24-8, Conf: 12-6)
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Team Strengths:
Rick Pitino and the Cards are making a comeback in the Big Dance after Louisville banned itself from joining last year’s March Madness. And in their return to the national tournament, the Cards will be wielding a terrifying defense that is regarded as one of the best in Divion I ball. The Cardinals allow just 65.4 points per game, which their opponents bleed for to get. Louisville is terrific in screwing up other team’s jumpers, limiting them to only 29.9% shooting on two-point jumpers.
Their excellent perimeter defense extends into the three-point area, where they allow opponents knock down 30.6% of their shots from there. On top of that, the Cardinals blocks 5.5 shots per game, second best in the SEC and 11th in the nation. Louisville is pegged at +1,200 to win the national championship.
Team Weaknesses:
While Louisville has arguably the best defense in the nation, there are times in which the Cardinals seem to let their guards down defensively. We could see that in their 88-81 loss to Wake Forest on Mar. 1 and in their 94-90 win over Virginia Tech back in Feb. 18. Pitino is great enough of a coach to acknowledge this and inculcating to his team the importance of playing tough the entire game is likely on top of his agenda going into the Big Dance.
Apart from that, the Cardinals have the tendency of going rusty in their shooting from the free throw line to the three-point area. The Cards are 224th in the nation with a poor 68.9 FT% and just 108th with 36.5 3FG%.
Team Stats:
| Category | Stat | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Points Per Game | 77.5 63 | 63 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 39.8 | 15 |
| Blocks Per Game | 5.5 | 11 |
| 3-Point Percentage | 36.5 | 108 |
| Free Throw Percentage | 68.9 | 224 |
Starting Lineup:
| Position | Name | PPG |
|---|---|---|
| F | Mangok Mathiang | 7.3 |
| F | Jaylen Johnson | 8.2 |
| F | Deng Adel |
11.6 |
| G | Quentin Snider |
12.6 |
| G | Donovan Mitchell | 15.9 |
Writer’s Prediction:
Louisville (+1,200) makes it to the Elite Eight round.
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