Your 6th ranked and defending National Champion Louisville Cardinals (8-1) return after a week long hiatus for finals week to face the 5-3 Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. While the Cards check in as 22 point favorites for the noon contest, televised on ESPN 2, at the KFC Yum! Center, what is likely to be first and foremost on the minds of fans is the absence of starting point guard Chris Jones. Jones had been playing through a sprained right wrist injury, you may have noticed the wrap on it in last Saturday’s Louisiana-Lafayette game, and has self-reported that he will miss the next three games (WKU, Missouri State, and at FIU); however Sports Information Director Kenny Klein has stated Jones is in fact day-to-day with his injury, and it is only speculation that he will miss a week’s worth of games. Either way, the injury is a minor one and while it is unwise to overlook any opponent, it seems that Jones is in no danger of missing the showdown in Lexington on December 28.
While Jones will certainly be missed in the guard rotation, seeing as he’s started eight of the Cards’ nine games, and ranks second in points scored at 14.9 per game, trailing only Russ’ 17.6, hitting nearly 42% of his shots from long range, while leading the team in playing time with 25.8 minutes per game, and serving up a second best 2.6 assists each contest, the panic button should not be pressed as an impressive freshman is the next man up. Cleveland’s Terry Rozier is a safe bet to replace Jones in the starting lineup, and so far in his inaugural collegiate campaign has been a tremendous asset for the Cards. Though having made just one start prior, Rozier is averaging just over 5 points and 2 assists per game, while seeing the floor for less than 16 minutes per night. However, in the last three games he’s averaging nearly 9 points, shooting 56% from the field, including an ever impressive 50% from beyond the arc. We would be remiss to also note that number zero tallied a team high six assists in the showdown with the Ragin’ Cajuns. In short, the point is in good hands till Jones returns.
The Cards’ opponent, WKU, comes into today winners of five of their last seven games. The Hilltoppers opened their 2013-14 season as part of the college hoops “Tip-off Marathon” versus an opponent the Cards remember well in Final Four opponent Wichita State; a game that saw that saw WKU trail by only 2 at the half, playing an extremely tight game most of the way before falling to the Shockers 66-49. It is also worth noting that the game tipped at midnight central time, and did not wrap up until after 2 AM…insanity.
But more on the opposition: Western is largely driven by two players in shooting guard T.J. Price and forward George Fant. The junior guard leads his squad in scoring with 16 points per game, and plays nearly 30 minutes per contest. The knock on Price, however, is that he takes a lot of shots while not shooting a strong percentage (just 37%). Meanwhile Fant is playing 30 plus minutes per game, averaging close to 14 points, 6 rebounds, and better than 1 block.
One other player of note is reigning Sun Belt player of the week, point guard Brandon Harris. Harris, a senior, junior college transfer from Oklahoma City, scored 30 points vs. Southern Illinois, including eight made 3’s, guiding his team to its first non-conference road win in two seasons. However those 30 points seem to be a statistical outlier in that Harris typically chips in less than ten points. What’s more, the Hilltoppers will receive reinforcements in the way of transfer players making their WKU debuts in guards Chris Harrison-Docks from Butler, and Trency Jackson, formerly an effective role-player at Texas Tech who averaged 6.6 points, and 2.3 rebounds, in 22 minutes per game in a total of 11 contests.
Though WKU has become a recent staple on the Cards’ non-conference schedule, seeing as the teams have squared off now in seven of the past eleven seasons, including six consecutive years dating back to 2008’s 54-69 loss to the Hilltoppers in Nashville, the Cards have dominated the recent series. Winners of four in a row, and five of the past six, often in going away fashion, there is no reason to believe that trend will change today. Though WKU represents a gradual increase in the way of challenge in the Cards’ schedule, this contest should ultimately still see a comfortable margin of victory for the home team in the end, and closing the gap in the all-time series scoreboard that sees the Hilltoppers currently sitting with a 39-37 lead.
Go Cards, Beat Western Kentucky!
Louisville Cardinals Season Statistics:
|
Player |
|||||||||||
|
9 |
25.6 |
17.6 |
3.2 |
4.3 |
2.0 |
0.1 |
2.2 |
.467 |
.824 |
.316 |
|
|
9 |
25.8 |
14.9 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
1.6 |
.481 |
.760 |
.417 |
|
|
9 |
25.1 |
13.3 |
9.2 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
.638 |
.567 |
1.000 |
|
|
9 |
21.6 |
9.7 |
3.0 |
0.7 |
1.7 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
.371 |
.862 |
.444 |
|
|
8 |
17.1 |
9.0 |
2.3 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.6 |
.314 |
.914 |
.229 |
|
|
8 |
18.0 |
7.9 |
6.3 |
0.6 |
1.1 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
.632 |
.441 |
.000 |
|
|
9 |
15.8 |
5.1 |
2.4 |
2.1 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
.362 |
.500 |
.348 |
|
|
9 |
16.0 |
3.7 |
3.9 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
1.2 |
0.6 |
.474 |
.536 |
.000 |
|
|
9 |
19.0 |
2.9 |
4.6 |
0.2 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
0.4 |
.733 |
.667 |
.000 |
|
|
7 |
6.9 |
1.6 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
.308 |
.500 |
.000 |
|
|
9 |
5.4 |
1.6 |
1.1 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
.333 |
.500 |
.100 |
|
|
7 |
2.9 |
1.1 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
.400 |
.500 |
.500 |
|
|
8 |
4.1 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
.200 |
.000 |
.222 |
|
|
6 |
5.0 |
0.3 |
1.2 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
1.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals |
9 |
— |
87 |
41 |
15 |
11 |
5 |
9 |
.467 |
.682 |
.333 |
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Season Statistics:
|
Player |
|||||||||||
|
8 |
29.8 |
15.6 |
3.9 |
2.4 |
1.3 |
0.1 |
2.4 |
.371 |
.743 |
.328 |
|
|
8 |
30.3 |
13.9 |
6.0 |
0.6 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
2.0 |
.533 |
.544 |
.000 |
|
|
5 |
25.2 |
9.8 |
5.0 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
.304 |
.900 |
.324 |
|
|
6 |
30.8 |
5.7 |
2.8 |
1.5 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
1.8 |
.406 |
.500 |
.250 |
|
|
8 |
18.6 |
5.3 |
5.3 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.6 |
1.1 |
.390 |
.533 |
.333 |
|
|
8 |
21.1 |
5.3 |
4.1 |
3.1 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
2.5 |
.375 |
.750 |
.300 |
|
|
8 |
18.4 |
3.6 |
3.1 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
1.5 |
.323 |
.700 |
.167 |
|
|
8 |
18.0 |
3.4 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.6 |
.273 |
.750 |
.250 |
|
|
8 |
9.4 |
2.5 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
1.4 |
.375 |
.750 |
.286 |
|
|
6 |
8.8 |
2.3 |
1.7 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
0.5 |
.500 |
.571 |
.000 |
|
|
8 |
9.0 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.9 |
.400 |
1.000 |
.286 |
|
|
1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
.000 |
.000 |
.000 |
|
|
Totals |
8 |
— |
64 |
37 |
11 |
5 |
3 |
16 |
.390 |
.655 |
.291 |
Erich Kline
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