Quick Hits: Louisville

The ACC has added depth and competition and a big reason why it’s stronger than ever is because of Louisville. This season the Cardinals have proven to be one of the best teams in the ACC as well as the country. Coming into the game this Saturday Louisville stands at 20-4 and ranked 9th in the country. Not only has Louisville proved to be good offensively but they have made their hay on the defensive end. The Cards rank in the top 15 in both steals (11th) and blocks (8th) in the NCAA.

A hallmark of Rick Pitino’s teams is a menacing full court defense that they use to get opposing teams out of sorts. That is how they come up with so many steals as their hectic pressure forces opponents to make ill-advised passes. If a team is going to gamble as much as the Cards do, then you better have some rim protection to clean up the mistakes. Luckily the Cardinals have Montrezl Harrell (6-8) and Mangok Mathiang (6-10) who both average over a block a game. Even though Louisville is great at ramping up the pressure it does leave them susceptible to mistakes and easy buckets. In the four losses they have on the season there was a common thread…That being all four team attacked their pressure and looked to score instead of just getting it past the time line. State must use their quickness to attack off of the press. Cat and Trevor must make quick decisions and move the ball quickly in order to come away with a win.

Louisville has done an excellent job all season of getting ready for each opponent as they have not dropped a game to unranked team thus far. Their four losses have been too formidable foes all ranked in the top 20. Not only does Louisville wear a team out defensively but they look to push the ball and tempo at every chance. Terry Rozier (6-1) a dynamic sophomore guard out of Ohio leads the Cards attack offensively, not only is he their leading scorer but he also leads the ACC in PPG at 18.5. By using his outstanding strength and toughness Rozier wills his way into the paint with reckless abandonment, which leads to him getting points at the foul line. State must be prepared to take a charge to take advantage of his reckless play.

Flanking Rozier is Harrell, the junior power forward puts the power in the position. He is a bull as he attacks the rim with force looking to take his defender with him. On the season he is averaging 15.8 points per and 9.2 boards. Our big men must be ready for a physical affair and put a body on Harrell. If they allow him a couple of highlight worthy plays the KFC YUM! Center will become a nightmare. There is definitely a couple of chinks in Harrell’s armor though, that being his willingness to settle for three-pointers and his emotions. Hopefully State can coax him into settling early and often for contested jump shots. The weakness that State needs to expose is his emotions. Harrell has let his emotions get out of hand which has lead to a couple of technicals and even a suspension this season. I am not suggesting the Pack do anything outside the lines of the game; but they need to be physical with him.

The only way NC State escapes Louisville with a win is to play with a copious amount of energy coupled with outstanding focus. If State can attack Louisville off of the press and limit their turnovers I am confident that they can come away with a win. I think Coach Gottfried needs to adjust the line-up to have more ball handlers who are capable of attacking the rim. Will we see more of Dez Lee? I am not sure, but the type of game the Cards prefer plays right into Lee’s strengths. Hopefully the Pack will continue to play hard and force the NCAA Committee to look their way once the season is in the books.

Redemption is less than 24 hours away as the Pack square off with the Cardinals at 4PM on Saturday. Catch all of the action on ESPN.