By Josie Simpson
For the second time in a week, Louisville will clash with the Clemson Tigers. This time, though, with something more at stake, the ACC Tournament.
Louisville dominated their last meeting, cruising to a 78-52 victory, but Clemson will be desperate to flip the script in this win-or-go-home battle.
What’s changed?
Clemson has struggled to find the bottom of the basket all season, but that struggle has ramped up in the final stretch of the season.
The Tigers have now lost three of their last five ACC matchups, averaging just 63.2 points per game in that span, a few points below their season average of 66.
In their last meeting with Louisville, Loyal McQueen led the team with 16 points but shot just 32.1% from the field. Against Stanford, she was more efficient, posting 17 points on 40% shooting, while adding eight rebounds and six assists.
She is the most ball dominant player for the Tigers, and it’ll be no secret that slowing her down will help Louisville Thursday.
Mia Moore has been one of Clemson’s most reliable perimeter shooters, achieving 66.7% from beyond the arc against Louisville, and 80% against Stanford.
Louisville has taken a major step forward as a direct result of an increased intensity on the perimeter. Louisville will need to key in on Moore from deep to make Clemson’s offense more one-dimensional.
And forcing Clemson to play inside-out would be a dream for Louisville, as they have the clear size advantage. The Cards out-rebounded Clemson 42-30 in their last meeting.
Another factor that saw the Cards run away in the second half was turnovers. Clemson does a very good job of holding onto the ball, but Louisville forced 11 turnovers and completely disrupted Clemson’s rhythm in the second half.
Success to repeat
Clemson’s defense is still bad as before, but they did have a nice performance against Stanford.
The Tigers held Stanford to just 46 points on 31.5% shooting from the field and 27.3% from deep. It’s hard to know whether that was Stanford’s top effort or if it was a team that just wanted to go home.
Either way, Louisville still had themselves a nice night the first go around.
Tajianna Roberts led the way with 19 points, knocking down 37.5% from beyond the arc, while Olivia Cochran controlled the glass with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Jayda Curry also made a huge impact, adding 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Louisville shouldn’t have much trouble scoring if they just give their all for a full 40 minutes.
Still, Louisville needed a dominant second half to pull away from the Tigers the first time, and teams with nothing to lose can be scary.
However, Louisville should pick up the win and advance to the quarterfinals.
Tip-off is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C.
Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Louisville Athletics
