By Derek DeBurger
No. 19 Louisville will face the undefeated No. 23 Washington Huskies on Wednesday.
Washington is similar to several teams Louisville has played this season, a la Ole Miss and Morehead State, in that they like to win the ugliest games imaginable. There’s a formula to winning these types of games that Louisville should replicate. Washington is a whole other beast; the Huskies are only giving up 45.6 points per game, the best mark in the nation.
One thing that could cause a fit is the Huskies’ excellent rebounding. Louisville is a good rebounding team, but Washington is a great rebounding team. They average 43 rebounds a game with a rebounding margin of 14.5 per game — 11th in the nation.
Like Ole Miss, Washington has a tough defense that doesn’t try to pick your pocket, they just try to stay in front of you. If they fail at staying in front of you, oh well — they average 4.2 blocks per game so they’ll swat your shot.
While the Huskies may not lick their chops at the thought of winning a shootout, they have a very efficient offense. From the field, the Huskies are shooting 46% and 34.5% from three. Knowing that the Huskies like to slow things down, the Cards will have to stay on their toes for a full shot clock each time they defend the half-court.
Playing their third physical game in a row is not ideal, but the Cards have what it takes to get it done. Louisville wants to play fast, but they’re like chameleons in that they can match whatever style of play opponents try against them. Olivia Cochran and Nyla Harris don’t necessarily have the height to match up with Washington’s bigs, but they have the strength. Louisville will need to try and get Cochran and Harris involved early and establish themselves as the more aggressive presence.
I like the Cards’ chances to bounce back in their second-of-back-to-back ranked matchups.
