By Harry Barsan
The men’s basketball season tips off tomorrow evening at the Yum! Center as the Cards will host the Morehead State Eagles.
Morehead State has just come from their second March Madness appearance in four years. While they placed third in the OVC regular season standings, they ran the table to the tune of three straight wins and a conference title. This in-state matchup coupled with a fiery off-season from the Louisville Cardinals will make for an enjoyable and telling first test of the season.
New team, who this?
The Kenny Payne era is over. After an embarrassing 12-52 overall record in his two years as head coach, Pat Kelsey has gladly introduced energy to a new era of Louisville basketball. Along with him came over a dozen players from the transfer portal, including three from Charleston.
So far, things have looked great. The Cardinals looked lively in the off-season and during their four-game, undefeated-preseason stretch. The question still lingers, though, whether or not they can seriously make a run for the ACC title?
Since they joined the ACC in 2014, the Cards have never won the regular season or conference tournament title. If the Cardinals can make it anywhere near the ACC title it would be a great improvement from the pain of Payne’s tenure. With excited conversations buzzing all off-season of how great this team can be, there is plenty of optimism to be had for the future and present of this team.
Interestingly enough, Morehead is in a nearly identical boat as the Cards for different reasons. After experiencing the success he had, Preston Spradlin left for James Madison. To fill his roll, the Eagles hired Jonathan Mattox from Murray State and Morehead State before that as an assistant under Spradlin.
While there will be little nuances in Mattox’s coaching style, it will likely be very similar to the Eagles teams of the past.
Offense Wins Games
Last year Louisville’s mens’ basketball only scored 72 points per game, placing them in the bottom half of all of division-1. The Cardinals may have their remedy this year with Kelsey being known for his innovative, NBA-style offense.
Key transfers like Terrence Edwards Jr., Reyne Smith and Kasean Pryor all averaged roughly 13 points each in their previous season. These players, along with the rest of the depth across the roster, may turn the scoring around and propel Louisville into being a top offensive team.
Still, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see them face struggles on the offense Monday. Morehead State ranked 10th nationally in defensive points per game allowed with 63.4. While their defense was good, they couldn’t defend their players from leaving the team. Morehead State’s roster looks about as different this year as Louisville’s does. Nevertheless, with largely new teams on the court, it may take a few games for either team to iron out any problems.
Defense Wins Championships
Pat Kelsey’s defense last year at Charleston wasn’t great. His Cougars gave up nearly 73 a game. Louisville defense was even worse, however, as their 79 PPG allowed ranked them in the bottom 30 of D-1.
And with both teams ranking outside the top-175 in defensive efficiency on Kempon, defense will very likely then be this team’s biggest issue.
Many of the players joining Louisville from the transfer portal were defensive standouts on their team like Chucky Hepburn and Aboubacar Traore. The Cards hauled in 21 steals off of 28 turnovers forced in their final exhibition game against Spalding. Every team Louisville plays will provide a major step up in competition, but fans will just have to wait and see how this defense looks.
While Morehead State had a very productive offense last year, all but a fraction of the Eagles’ offense left the team, including OVC player of the year Riley Minix and his 22.4 PPG. While the Cardinals may be able to handle the Eagles on defense tomorrow, it will need to be a key focus as the season progresses.
Louisville will have a major talent advantage, and should get the win on talent alone. The Cards will likely start 1-0 on a fun opening night.
Photo Courtesy // Lillian Camp, Louisville Athletics