Louisville at Virginia Basketball Preview
The Virginia Cavaliers (8-5 overall, 1-1 in ACC) will start the new year off by hosting the Louisville Cardinals (9-5 overall, 2-1 in ACC) in a key conference clash on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM Eastern, televised on ACC Network.
About Louisville
The Cardinals have a new head coach, Pat Kelsey. He was hired away from College of Charleston, where he had a very successful three year run. The Louisville roster received a complete makeover after the coaching change. Through the transfer portal, Kelsey has assembled an older very experienced team.
Louisville enters with a 9-5 overall record, 2-1 in ACC play. They’re fresh off a big home win over North Carolina on Wednesday. The Cardinals played a difficult non-conference schedule, and came away with a couple resume wins against West Virginia and Indiana. They currently sit at 50 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, making this a Quad-2 home game for Virginia.
Louisville’s Personnel
Seven of the nine players who saw action last time out are seniors, including several in their extra year. They’re all new to Louisville, but it’s an older team. Kelsey has been starting the following big lineup, then will downshift once he turns to the bench.
G - #24 Chucky Hepburn (6’2” Senior, Wisconsin transfer, 15.9 points and 5.4 assists per game)
G - #5 Terrence Edwards Jr. (6’6” Super Senior, JMU transfer, 14.1 points per game)
G - #1 J’Vonne Hadley (6’6” Senior, Colorado transfer, 10.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game)
F - #93 Noah Waterman (6’11” Super Senior, BYU transfer, 7.7 points per game)
F - #0 James Scott (6’11” Sophomore, Charleston transfer, 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game)
Sharpshooting guard Reyne Smith (13.4 PPG), another Charleston transfer, plays starter minutes off the bench.
Aggressive Style
More than half of Louisville’s shots this season have come from three-point range, one of the highest attempt rates in the country. They haven’t shot well from deep as a team, under 30%, but they’ll take lots of them. When the shots go down, they become very tough to beat. Guard Reyne Smith is a specialist, currently leading the ACC in made three-pointers by a wide margin.
The Cardinals look to attack in transition at every opportunity. And they’re a good offensive rebounding team. UVA has been vulnerable at times this season in both of those areas. Defensively, they pressure and try to force turnovers. I would expect to see an occasional full-court press thrown in. It’s crucial for the Wahoos to win the possession battle by taking care of the ball and limiting Louisville to one shot.
Point Guard Concerns
Virginia starting point guard Dai Dai Ames was missing for most of Tuesday’s win over NC State. The sophomore was taken out after nine minutes, and never reinserted. It’s unclear if he was available or ruled out by injury. He’s been dealing with a nagging ankle sprain since the SMU game in early December.
The point guard position has been a soap opera for Virginia. Likely starter Jalen Warley entered the transfer portal just before the season, following Tony Bennett’s retirement. And it looks like freshman Christian Bliss may sit out the season. He’s been back practicing for a while, but doesn’t suit up for games. Those two along with Ames were expected to make up the point guard by committee.
Junior Andrew Rohde has filled the void, leading the team in assists. He had one of his best games in the win over NC State, dishing out 7 assists with only one turnover. If Ames can’t go or is limited again on Saturday, it’ll take a collective effort from the Wahoo guard rotation.
Up Next
Virginia makes their first ACC West Coast trip next week. They’ll face California in a late night 11:00 PM Eastern tip out in Berkeley on Wednesday. Then head to Stanford for a Saturday afternoon game.
Be sure to tune in for the Locker Room Access pregame show, 30 minutes before tipoff as always, available on YouTube and Facebook.
(Featured Image Credit: Jamie Holt/UVA Athletics)