I bet you didn’t think our old Metro conference rival Southern Mississippi would have a better record than Louisville heading into our match up?  They beat DePaul.  What more proof do you need?

Unfortunately for USM, super power forward Clarence Witherspoon isn’t walking through those doors. If you didn’t get that old Metro Conference reference, don’t feel bad – it means you are young, and I am old – so I feel bad.

Capture

Southern Miss History:  There isn’t much of one.  They have been to the NCAA tourney 3 times, and are 0-3.  They have enjoyed being ranked for a total of 19 weeks in program history, and only 1 time in the season’s final poll.

That should make us feel better, but it doesn’t.  Why you ask?  Donnie Tyndall.  Murray State upset Louisville under his command.  Taking down our beloved “bridge year team” after Preston Knowles went down with a knee injury with the Cards holding onto a narrow lead.

Donnie Tyndall takes over the program when rumored “almost UL coach” Larry Eustachy left for Colorado State.  We ran over Larry & CSU last year.  He had a capable team, and we were a capable buzz saw at that time, but this isn’t about Leisure Suit Larry (see drinking college parties scandal), this is about Donnie.

Random Facts: 

  • On paper, we are a major rival for them.  The Cards have played Southern Miss the THIRD MOST in their program’s history.  In 39 total games, the Cards own a 28-11 edge.
  • Rumored “Almost UL Coach” Larry Eustachy coached USM for 7 years post “hanging out drinking with college girls at college parties” incident while at Iowa State.  He moved on to Colorado State, and we delivered a beating to his capable team last season.

Where USM rates well

  • FG% (NCAA 68th)
  • 3FG% (NCAA 71st)
  • Steals (NCAA 36th)

 

Where USM rates poorly

  • FT% (NCAA 263rd)
    • Employ Hack a Shaq Strategy
  • Def Rebounds (NCAA 255th)
    • Hello Chane and Trez
  • Turnovers (NCAA 239th)

What to expect:  a Louisville victory.  With poor rebounding and high turnovers, expect Louisville to have a considerable amount more shot attempts.  Rick has been on his guards about playing better defense with their feet and not be overly paranoid with the whistles – so I think we will see some awkward transitioning tonight into that mindset.  If the guards got the message, I expect them to be more aggressive.  That could cause for a few more whistles as they get used to it, but they need to start working on that now so they are ready by conference time.

Score Prediction:  Louisville More Points, Southern Miss Less Points.

Boom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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@CrumsRevenge

Former D1 Player and Coach. Life long fan of the Cardinals. CR makes movies, takes photos, co-host of "The Crunch Zone" Podcast, and can be heard on ESPN680 Wednesday 7-8:30am. Follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine (CrumsRevenge).

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