Scouting Report: Louisville Cardinals

Syracuse has a critical game Wednesday night when they travel to play at Louisville. The outcome could go a long way to determining Syracuse's NCAA Tournament fate. Here is what Orange fans should know about the Cardinals.

ELITE BACKCOURT

Carlik Jones and David Johnson is perhaps the best backcourt in the ACC. Jones is third in the conference in scoring at 17.4 points per game and third in assists at 4.9 per game. Johnson averages over 13 points per game and is Louisville's best three point shooter. He has more than double the three pointers made than the next closest Louisville player. Both are also really good, physical defenders. This will be a significant challenge for Syracuse on both ends.

STINGY DEFENSE

Louisville is third in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.2 points per game. On top of that, Louisville is first in the league in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to just 40.1% shooting. Louisville is physical with ball handlers and contests everything. One area where they are not great defensively is forcing turnovers. Louisville is 12th in the ACC in steals per game and 11th in turnover margin. Louisville also does not have a strong rim protector, and is last in the league in blocked shots per game. That should give Syracuse a chance to attack the basket if they can get by the physical guards.

THREE POINT SHOOTING

David Johnson is a great outside shooter at 42% on the season. However, beyond him, Louisville tends to struggle from the outside. The rest of the Cardinals squad is shooting just 28% from three point range, which would be last in the conference. In fact, Louisville is just 14th in the ACC in three pointers made per game. Syracuse has to make sure they know where Johnson is at all times and force others to beat them from the outside.

REBOUNDING

Louisville is second in the ACC in rebounding margin, fifth in defensive rebounding percentage and fifth in offensive rebounding percentage. Simply put, this is a very good rebounding team. Syracuse will need a strong effort on the boards. Louisville is not an overly tall team, with their primary rebounders standing at 6-7 and 6-8. But they box out well, anticipate missed shots well and are very physical inside. Louisville gets helps from its guards on the boards as well, with each starting guard grabbing more than five rebounds per game.

COVID PAUSE

Louisville has not played since February 1st due to positive covid tests within the program. In fact, head coach Chris Mack just returned to the program on Tuesday. Assistant Dino Gaudio indicated on Monday during the weekly ACC coaches call that Louisville would be without two scholarship players Wednesday night. He declined to name those players, however. How rusty will Louisville be after two weeks without a game? That could play a factor in this game as well.