Louisville vs Virginia Basketball Preview
By Josh Burton
Coming off a disheartening 76-54 loss at Notre Dame over the weekend, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team (10-3, 1-1 in ACC play) will look to get back on track as they host Louisville on Wednesday night. The game will tip at 7 PM EST and air on ESPN2.
About Louisville
The University of Louisville Cardinals are coached by Kenny Payne, in his second season. The Cardinals have been a dismal 9-35 under Payne, going 5-7 so far this season.
The Cardinals are a very young team that doesn’t play with a lot of depth. So far on the season, they have seven players who have averaged double digits, and only two of those are upperclassmen. They line up as follows:
G - Skyy Clark (6’3” Sophomore, transfer from Illinois) Averages a team high 15.8 points per game.
G - Mike James (6’5” Sophomore) Averages 12.3 points and 6..2 rebounds per game.
G - Tre White (6’7” Sophomore) Averages 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
G - Ty-Laur Johnson (6’0” Freshman) Averages 8.3 points and 3.5 assists per game.
F - Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6’10” Junior) Averages 9.8 points and a team high 9.3 rebounds per game.
Senior forward JJ Traynor was also a key piece for Louisville to begin the season. He has been out since early December with a shoulder injury. The Cardinals last played on December 21st, a game which Traynor missed . He had been considered day-to-day at that time, so it'll be interesting to see if he's able to go on Wednesday night. To this point, there have been no additional updates on his status.
Figuring Things Out
There is no sugar-coating the fact that the Cavaliers simply looked overmatched by what should’ve been inferior competition in South Bend. Credit to Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry and the Irish players for an incredible performance, but the Cavaliers must be better than they were and that showing should not be viewed as acceptable for them.
Since the exam break in mid-December, the Wahoos have looked shaky at best in all four contests. The most disappointing part to this is it had looked like they were really figuring things out and coming together in the two weeks prior to the break. But seasons almost always have ebbs and flows, especially with a team as young as Virginia is this year. Now may be the time to shake up the lineup again to try and come out of the current rut the team has been in.
First-year Elijah Gertrude is a player to keep an eye on. He has played double digit minutes in six consecutive games while showing flashes of his enormous potential. He’s already in the upper echelon of athleticism within the sport and his abilities athletically can be used as a spark to ignite the team. But he must learn to control the ball and play within Coach Bennett’s system. This isn’t out of the ordinary to be a learning curve for young players at UVA, so watch for him to continue to learn the system and his minutes to to grow as a result of him figuring it out.
Second-year Isaac Mckneely is another player who must figure out his fit within the system. He looked like he was ready to take the next step before exam break, having three straight double digit performances and back to back games scoring 22 points while hitting 6-8 from three in each contest. Since the break, he is only 5-20 from three without a double digit scoring game. Teams have adjusted to him and are making it more difficult for him to get good looks. But Isaac is an outstanding player and should break out of his current slump. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.
The last thing I’ll touch on is it does appear the staff is learning better uses for second-year sensation Ryan Dunn. He has scored in double digits in two of the last three games, primarily doing his work close to the basket. Bringing him from off the arc to down towards the paint has seemingly been a better fit in terms of his skillset and athleticism. Look for him to continue to build on his recent success inside.
Next Up
Following Wednesday night’s game, the Cavaliers will be back on the road to face NC State on Saturday for a 2 PM EST tip. Keep up with all the action right here, on Locker Room Access!
(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)