The preseason is over for the Louisville Cardinals and now the real test begins.
After the erratic Cardinals (9-3) late game victory over arch rival Kentucky, the Cardinals will finally begin Big East play on Wednesday at South Florida.
Looking ahead at the Big East slate and the powerhouse teams in the conference, here is what Cardinal fans need to look at as the real season begins.
Pittsburgh (14-0)
The Panthers will find themselves ranked number one on Monday afternoon and with good reason. Pitt's crushing victory over Georgetown on Saturday was a statement win worthy of the nation's top ranking.
Pitt is led by the best frontcourt in the Big East featuring forwards Sam Young and DeJuan Blair who have combined to average 34 points and 18 rebounds a game.
Not only are the Pitt big men skilled, but big and rugged as well causing match-up problems for teams like Louisville with a more finesse oriented frontcourt.
Adding to coach Jamie Dixon's arsenal is point guard Levance Fields who averages 10 points a game and has an unreal 6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
UCONN (12-1)
No team might be as strong at all five positions as the Huskies.
While the frontcourt of Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrian (both of whom are averaging over 14 points and nine rebounds a game) get the headlines, the Huskies are just as strong and more deep in the backcourt.
Starting guards Jerome Dyson, A.J Price, and Craig Austrie have been causing havoc all season combining for 35 points and 10 rebounds a game. Adding to opponents misery is sixth man Kemba Walker who coming off the bench is scoring more than Price and Austrie.
Perhaps no team provides more match-up problems for the Cards than UCONN who not only have a 7'3'' eraser in Thabeet for the erratic Samardo Samuels to deal with in the paint, but also a group of guards who have proven to be more consistent and deep than the Cardinals backcourt.
Georgetown (10-2)
Terrance Williams will have his hands full with Hoyas' forward DaJuan Summers when the two teams meet on February 23. Summers is proving himself to be one of the best small forwards in the Big East as the Hoya's leading scorer averaging 15 points a game.
The meeting will also be a battle of the top two freshmen big men in the conference as Samardo Samuels will duel with Georgetown freshman Greg Monroe. Monroe is averaging nearly 13 points a game, shooting over 56% from the field, and is second on the team in assists.
Also, in a close game, it's worth noting that Georgetown has all five starters shooting over 73% from the free throw line.
Syracuse (14-1)
No team has dealt with more turmoil (Eric Devendorf) and embarrassment (Cleveland State) this season than the Orange, yet they still find themselves with only one loss.
The Orange are led by one of the best guard tandems in the conference with the reinstated Devendorf and flashy two guard Jonny Flynn. The backcourt duo is averaging a combined 30 and 8.5 assists per game.
However, the Cards may take solace in the fact that despite the production of Devendorf and Flynn they also average nearly seven turnovers per game, and have been rattled by the Cardinal's defense in the past.
3 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jameson Fleming 6 months ago
Syracuse's game against Louisville worries me because this team hasn't been good in recent years against strong on the ball pressure like Louisville will bring. With the way Flynn and Devendorf turn the ball over as you mention, Syracuse could be in for a long night. Luckily for the Orange, the game is in Syracuse for the first time in a couple years.
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Richard DeLancey 6 months ago
What is up with Lousiville?
They have been underperforming big time....
Can Rick right the ship?
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K.C Mynk 6 months ago
Over the past three seasons this appears to be Louisville's M.O. In the pre-Big East part of the schedule we've lost to an average Iowa team, Dayton, UMass, and BYU over the past few years. Two years ago we got blown out in our BE opener against Notre Dame, and last season we lost to a bad Cincinnati team at home to start conference play.
I have no idea why the team starts slow but it's a trend that's been going on for the past few years.
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