WSU VS. LOUISVILLE PREDICTIONS AND PREGAME DISCUSSIONS

[shoxlax]

Yes , Higgins and Burr are the worst.
Too many anticipatory calls because they can't keep up with the action and when they do, the call is usually wrong.

See folks, we are not the only ones who feel that way.

[KirkUofLGrad]

First of all Louisville is the #1 team in the nation. They are a great team. Having said that, Cardinalfan123 forgot one weekness that I think that WSU could exploit. WSU has guards that are bigger and stronger than the Cardinal guards. I would think about inverting the WSU offense and put the guards down low and shoot short jump shots over their smaller guards and then crashing the boards. I like Cotton's chances against Siva one on one of getting offensive rebounds. I like Baker's chances of getting rebounds or shooting over Russ Smith. If Dieng comes down to help, kick it out to open shooters Armstead and Early for 3. Dieng is also possibly open to foul trouble. It looked like he couldn't wait yesterday to go after a block.

I also believe that no matter what the coach tells them, they have already started scouting Michigan and Syracuse for the title game. If I looked at cardinalfan123's scouting report, I know I would be.

Ah the old Denny Crum strategy. The reason that posting up the big guards doesn't work against UofL is that UofL runs either a match-up zone or a switching man-man most of the time. Therefore when the guard goes into the post the smaller guard no longer covers him and instead he is covered by a SF, PF, or C.

Also early on I heard mention that a good strategy against UofL is to slack off of Siva and Russ. Many teams have done this but UofL uses the pick and roll a lot so if you slack you just get a pick closer to the basket. I will admit early in the season this was a big weakness for UofL but in the tourney so far at least the penetration has been upstopable. Actually against Oregon they did fairly well against UofL pressure defense but they just couldnt stop UofL points in the paint on offense. Also, early on this team was not a great rebounding team. Since our ND loss that has completely changed and UofL is a great rebounding team.

I wish Wichita State was in the bracket opposite UofL so I could root for a UofL-Wichita State final. I didn't have Wichita State in the FF in my bracket but I did have you all in the elite-eight. I am looking forward to an exciting game and can certainly understand why you all would have a chip on your shoulders listening to the media. As a UofL fan I can relate. I have heard that plenty in regards to UofL. I would say the keys to the game for Wichita State would be handling the press, hitting from the perimeter (This is open a lot against UofL aggressive defense), and reboudning. I will say Wichita State must do a better job of preventing points in the paint then all of UofL competition in the tourney so far.

For UofL I think the keys to the game are to frustrate Wichita State guards who are underrated, have a chip on their shoulder and very good. Guard size has in the past hurt UofL against teams like Cuse. But that was typically in combination with the zone. So I would say another key for UofL is solid rebounding and low turnovers. Again these were early season issues that have not been present lately. Lately Russ/Siva have played in control. Before our run though Russ had a tendency to play to fast and commit stupid turnovers. So far that isnt there. If you can force Russ into overplaying you can cause UofL problems.

I expect a fun game and only wish Wichita State was playing someone else so I could root for your team. I for one never underestimate the competition so I expect a close game against a very solid team in Wichita State.

[Kung Wu]

Witchita

Wichita.

Nice post though, and thanks for stopping by our board!

[newshock1234]

been pretty impressed with the Louisville poster.

[another shocker]

Ah the old Denny Crum strategy. The reason that posting up the big guards doesn't work against UofL is that UofL runs either a match-up zone or a switching man-man most of the time. Therefore when the guard goes into the post the smaller guard no longer covers him and instead he is covered by a SF, PF, or C.

Also early on I heard mention that a good strategy against UofL is to slack off of Siva and Russ. Many teams have done this but UofL uses the pick and roll a lot so if you slack you just get a pick closer to the basket. I will admit early in the season this was a big weakness for UofL but in the tourney so far at least the penetration has been upstopable. Actually against Oregon they did fairly well against UofL pressure defense but they just couldnt stop UofL points in the paint on offense. Also, early on this team was not a great rebounding team. Since our ND loss that has completely changed and UofL is a great rebounding team.

I wish Witchita State was in the bracket opposite UofL so I could root for a UofL-Witchita State final. I didn't have Witchita State in the FF in my bracket but I did have you all in the elite-eight. I am looking forward to an exciting game and can certainly understand why you all would have a chip on your shoulders listening to the media. As a UofL fan I can relate. I have heard that plenty in regards to UofL. I would say the keys to the game for Witchita State would be handling the press, hitting from the perimeter (This is open a lot against UofL aggressive defense), and reboudning. I will say Witchita State must do a better job of preventing points in the paint then all of UofL competition in the tourney so far.

For UofL I think the keys to the game are to frustrate Witchita State guards who are underrated, have a chip on their shoulder and very good. Guard size has in the past hurt UofL against teams like Cuse. But that was typically in combination with the zone. So I would say another key for UofL is solid rebounding and low turnovers. Again these were early season issues that have not been present lately. Lately Russ/Siva have played in control. Before our run though Russ had a tendency to play to fast and commit stupid turnovers. So far that isnt there. If you can force Russ into overplaying you can cause UofL problems.

I expect a fun game and only wish Witchita State was playing someone else so I could root for your team. I for one never underestimate the competition so I expect a close game against a very solid team in Witchita State.

witchita, over and over. are you a secret kentucky fan?

[KirkUofLGrad]

Yes, I know these games were early in the season, but they provide some insight...
Northern Iowa Game - Louisville had Northern Iowa down by 18 in the first half and won by 5



From the Illinois State game (Louisville won by 3)



Pretty obvious - make your shots, make them miss their's; don't let them press and if they do, handle it. Don't let them drive to the basket and avoid the fouls... And getting in foul trouble (if you can) will help....

I think Wicha State has a good chance to cause UofL havoc but you are not going to learn a thing from looking at those games you pointed out. They were early in the season and really not at all meaningful. You have to understand how Pitino coaches to get it but he uses those games as learning tools. One just has to look at the early Duke game to understand.

You do make a good point on the press though. The best offense against the press is a good defense. If Wicha State can consistantly get stops UofL won't be able to press and the problem is solved. So in some ways the key to the game is Witcha State preventing easy points in the paint to prevent the press from getting setup. You have another good point on foul trouble. Early in the year and still sometimes now Siva is foul prone. With the tradgic injury to Ware UofL has very little depth at the guard position. This is a big concern for me. We were able to cover that issue in the Duke game with Tim Henderson. I am concerned with how we do that for this game. Plus it was upsetting for me to see such a good kid like Ware go down.

[Kung Wu]

Witcha

Wichita.

You can get the put back though! Hustle!

[another shocker]

Wichita.

You can get the put back though! Hustle!

there is only one "t" in wichita, so i guess he covered his ass.

[KirkUofLGrad]

I will say Louisville fans seem much more well-informed and down to Earth than the Buckeye fans we faced last round. Maybe it's just because we've made it to the Final Four....or it was a case of the Buckeye fans showing off their B1G attitude.

Oh my thank goodness for that. OSU fans are amoung the worst in the country. There enormous sense of grandure is second to almost none and they feel this way even in BB where they have very little real success. Then again just be glad it wasn't FB it would have been worse. Of course in BB none are worse the UK fans.

I for one thought Wichita State was a good team before the tourney not just because it is the final four. I didn't pick you all to make the final four but I did pick an elite 8. I am very happy to have seen you whipe the smug from the OSU fans face though. That made me immensly happy.

[KirkUofLGrad]

Louisville isn't in the same universe as Ohio State in terms of being a national brand and all of the bandwagon fans that come with that.

They were considered a party crasher in last year's Final Four. Remember this is a program that's only been in the Big East since 2004, and used to be with us in the Valley. If we weren't there, I'd absolutely be cheering for them, big name coach or not. They don't have the legendary program mentality clouding their judgment ... although hopefully their player's have got adjusted to thinking like a top team really quick and overlook us >=)

Now you are going to get the goat of this UofL fan so to speak. UofL BB brand is light years greater then anything OSU ever has done and it isn't close. But as far as FB is concerned you are correct. However, your comments reflect exactly why most UofL fans can relate to what Wichita State is experiencing in the lack of respect. UofL fans know all about getting no respect regardless of how well you have done.

[another shocker]

Oh my thank goodness for that. OSU fans are amoung the worst in the country. There enormous sense of grandure is second to almost none and they feel this way even in BB where they have very little real success. Then again just be glad it wasn't FB it would have been worse. Of course in BB none are worse the UK fans.

I for one thought Witchita State was a good team before the tourney not just because it is the final four. I didn't pick you all to make the final four but I did pick an elite 8. I am very happy to have seen you whipe the smug from the OSU fans face though. That made me immensly happy.

you picked wichita state to make the elite eight? get outta here, shrimp

[KirkUofLGrad]

Louisville fans know where they came from. They are an old Valley team who was snubbed by Kentucky just as long as WSU was snubbed by KU in the 50s through the 80s (or longer). They deserve everything they have, and I will always support them and root for them when they aren't playing us. Total respect for that program And if there is a job anywhere in the country that I would want to lose Marshall to (and I dont), it would be Louisville - a perfect fit.

Ah someone that understands the UofL fan to a T. I so wish our teams could have delayed the meeting until the title game. Wichita State is a team I would love to be able to cheer for and had been cheering for before this game.

[KirkUofLGrad]

One question: When we beat Louisville, will we finally be considered legit?

Don't worry about what the pundits say you are already ligit. You just need to follow it up with multiple wins. It wasn't long ago that the Zags were considered nothing. I still remember when the Zags started building their reputation years ago off the back of the Cards and Denny Crum late in his career. Oh how I still dislike the Zags from those games :)

[The Mad Hatter]

I said this on an earlier thread about who people wanted to face, Duke or Louisville, when I said I wanted Louisville, in spite of being the better team. I was rooting for Louisville because they have a fanbase that knows basketball and, in spite of moving up into bigger conferences, hasn't developed the same kind of arrogance and entitlement that many successful schools have.

A lot of this stems from UL fans having to put up with UK fans, who want to treat UL the same way KU treats us (although UK's arrogance is KU on steroids). Unlike many BCS fan bases, UL fans tend to care more about the quality of ball being played by a team than the name on their jersey.

Frankly, for all the discussions of becoming like Gonzaga that always come up among non-BCS programs, the school I really want to be like is Louisville. A former Valley school that forced their way into national prominence by winning a national championship, and even when getting the big conference invites, hasn't treated non-BCS schools the same distain that others wrongly aimed in UL's direction in the past.

[jocoshock]

I expect a fun game and only wish Witchita State was playing someone else so I could root for your team. I for one never underestimate the competition so I expect a close game against a very solid team in Witchita State.

Same here... Would have preferred to play you guys in the NC game. I am an old timer and remember listening to WSU-Louisville games on the radio as a kid during the Wes Unseld and Butch Beard years. Was in college the last time we played each other in 1976. WSU won that game in Louisville and it was an upset, even though we went to the NCAA that year. Wish we still played each other from time to time.

If we don't get past you on Saturday, I will be rooting for you guys..