Storm Weathered
Louisville maintained it’s road warrior status on Tuesday night warding off a pesky Miami Hurricane squad to go to 19-3 overall and just a game back of second place in the ACC. The Cards’ “Big 3” were once again clutch, carrying the team in virtually every statistical category known to man. The win sets up an intriguing showdown with Virginia this Saturday, a game that promises to showcase two hellacious defensive teams. The Cavaliers seem to have regained their balance after losing a home tilt to a top 5 Duke team last weekend. All eyes will be focused on Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier, as usual, as Virginia will bring their normal blue collar balanced team persona to the forefront.
Heading in to the game with Virginia, the average fan, especially a UofL one, should take note that UofL only place FOUR players in the scoring column against Miami. This is a major concern for the future as the four aforementioned players are all likely to be gone next season. But the immediate future is even more discerning as most teams who expect to play deep into March (and perhaps even early April) have developed a reliable bench that can find ways to put points on the board. Unfortunately this Louisville team, most likely due to youth, has yet to develop a true rotation. Mangok Mathiang, at this juncture, is the only bench player contributing anything of substance. If UofL is going to again make a run at an inaugural league title such as their one year honeymoon in the AAC Conference, they will need more, hell anything from guys like Shaqquan Aaron, Quentin Snider and perhaps even Jaylen Johnson.
Around College Hoops
– KY continues to steamroll SEC competition as Karl Towns is showing why he is gonzo at year’s end
– If you haven’t heard by now, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor is pretty good and looking like a Wooden Award Winner
– Have heard from friends with ties in Bloomington that Tom Crean’s seat is a little warmer than some may think
Next game prediction……
Virginia 53 Louisville 56
(And I am honestly picking this without rose colored glasses on)
The Confidential 