By Derek DeBurger and Charles Hall

The Louisville Cardinals look to keep the good times rolling when the No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers come to the KFC Yum! Center.

This is the first ranked matchup of the Pat Kelsey-era.

Strength on strength

The biggest draw of a Kelsey tenure was the fast paced, NBA-style offense.

As we saw Monday night, the Cardinals have a great offense where the ball moves freely and settles in the hot hand.

Tennessee, however, has the defense to keep hands cool. From 2022 to 2024, the Vols ranked top-five in defensive efficiency on Kenpom, and they currently rank seventh after one game.

They’re led defensively by their lock-down point guard, Zakai Zeigler, who is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Zeigler has a similar annoyance to his game as Chucky Hepburn does, both give no room to ball handlers.

While Zeigler can wear down an opponent, he was worn down in the Vols’ season opener against Gardner-Webb. Darryl Simmons used his quickness to score 22 points on Zeigler. The Cards could potentially use Koren Johnson to get Zeigler off balance and playing on his heels.

The rest of the Vols had a great day being disruptive, grabbing nine steals and forcing 15 turnovers. They also held Gardner-Webb to just 26.1% shooting from three-point range, displaying their ability to run shooters off the arc.

Since their second exhibition, teams have been able to successfully run Louisville inside the arc and limit their shooting from deep. Tennessee will no doubt force Louisville off the line and in the paint, and then try to bully them down low. For Louisville to score, they’ll need to hit the few open looks they get from three and match the Vols’ physicality down low.

Top heavy

Tennessee’s offense was orchestrated by Zeigler and headlined by North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier. Lanier is Tennessee’s top option in an effort to replace the production of Dalton Knecht. Replacing the first-round draft pick is a near impossible task, but Lanier is certainly a talented three-level scorer.

Outside of the starting rotation, Tennessee’s bench struggled to score opening night. The Vols will likely run a very short bench on Saturday, but taking drawing fouls and taking advantage of substitutions.

The Cardinals showed a dominating force on the defensive side of the court, racking up 12 steals, six blocks and 21 forced turnovers. The need for a repeat performance can’t be overstated due to the fast paced high scoring volunteer offense.

The Tennessee offense knows how to move the ball to find open players, totaling 16 assists in their win against Gardner-Webb. While the Vols will be significantly more athletic than their previous opponent, the Cards will need to play the role of disrupters by squeezing passing lanes and choking out ball handlers.

If the Cardinals hope to win they need to push the envelope on offense. This game will likely be an offensive sprint and Louisville will need to bring a high scoring outing in order to leave the Yum! Center with a win.

Louisville should continue to find openings for Kasean Pryor while finding avenues to shut down Lanier.

Expect an offensive thriller in this early test against a top-15 team in the nation.

Photo Courtesy // AnnaBelle Merz, Louisville Athletics