The #12 Cards (19-5, 7-4 Big East) will return to the court on Thursday night to face St Johns (15-9, 7-5 Big East). The Cards will be looking to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the grueling five overtime loss against Notre Dame on Saturday and The Red Storm will be looking for another quality win to add to their resume in what has been a roller coaster of a season for them. Louisville leads the all-time series in this rivalry 11-2. The Cards are 6-2 since the teams started playing in the Big East in 2006. The Cards have won the last two meetings against the Red
Storm.

Steve Lavin’s team was extremely young last year, and though it isn’t exactly grizzled this season, the Red Storm is building toward prosperity with a second consecutive solid recruiting class and the construction of a roster with talent at every position. Even though the roster is young and inexperienced, there are plenty of pieces to allow the Johnnies to play fast or slow, to spread the floor and fire away or to rough it up inside. As you would expect out of a young group this team has been very inconsistent this season. They have had really bad losses to teams like UNC-Asheville and San Francisco. And they have also had some pretty good wins over UCONN and Georgetown. Now they find themselves needing a really good win or two to get back in the conversation of the Ncaa Tourney. They haven’t made an assault on the conference’s upper reaches, not with 11 underclassmen on the roster but out of Lavin’s crop of eight newcomers there have been some players who have made a big impact this year. And that has made St. John’s quite a formidable foe at this point in the season. They have a really solid interior defense and can get after you on the defensive end of the floor. They are 6th in the Big East in field goal percentage defense holding teams to 39.9% on average and 9th in 3 point field goal percentage defense holding teams to 32.7% per game. They are second in all of NCAA Division I basketball and 1st in the Big East in blocked shots averaging 5.8 a game. Seven different Red Storm players have blocked a shot this season. They are ranked 6th in the Big East in steals averaging 6.9 a game. The Red Storm is averaging only 11.3 turnovers per game, a mark that ranks 4th among Big East programs and tied for 23rd in the nation. Their +2.92 turnover margin is 4th in the conference and 38th nationally, up from a +1.28 mark in 2011-12.
The Red Storm also rank nationally 160th with 68 points per game, 104th with 36.5 rebounds per game, 187th with 12.6 assist per game and 191st shooting 43% from the field per game. Kenpom has their adj efficiency on offense at 101.3 ranked 151st nationally. He has their adj efficiency on defense at 93.1 ranked 65th nationally. They currently have a 55 RPI and are in 9th place in the Big East.

In-conference offense: 3pt-27.8%, 2pt-41.2%, FT-65.1%
In-conference defense: Turnovers-14.2pg, Steals-6.9pg, Blocks-5.8pg

Coach Steve Lavin: “We’re probably a year ahead of schedule in terms of where we are personnel-wise.” “We have a full complement of scholarship players, but we have 11 underclassmen, and all of our players have one year or less of Division I experience. It’s the youngest team I’ve coached. It’s the youngest team in school history.”

The Red Storm Players:

-Projected Starters

Jakarr Sampson FR (14.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.1 apg) 6.8 F is a skilled and athletically dynamic basketball player with the ability to influence the game at both ends of the floor. His ability to create off the dribble, slash to the basket and finish at the rim gives him distinction among his peers. He just earned a conference best sixth Big East Rookie of the Week award, the league announced on Monday. He leads Big East freshmen in both scoring (14.8 ppg, 13th overall) and rebounding (6.6 rpg, 11th overall). His rejections (1.2, 11th) and defensive rebounds per game (4.6, eighth) are listed among the Big East Conference leaders.

Sir’Dominic Pointer SOPH (6.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.9 blkpg) 6-5 G/F is one of the most athletic and tenacious defenders in the Big East. He has offensive skills that allow him to play at the shooting guard, small forward and power forward positions. He is 14th in the Big East in rebounding, 7th in defensive rebounding and 15th in steals.

D’Angelo Harrison SOPH (18.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 apg) 6-3 G is a long-range bomber known for his dead-eye accuracy and ability to get to the rim. He’s an athletic and versatile scorer who possesses both great range and great confidence. He ranks 10th in the Big East in scoring and 7th in 3 point field goals made at 1.9 per game. He also ranks 10th in the league in minutes played at 36 a game. He shoots 40.7% from the field, 31.7% from the 3 point line and 78.5% from the free throw line.

Phil Greene IV SOPH (8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg) 6-2 G is known for his quickness and playmaking skills on offense and in transition. He is a floor general with the ability to get into the lane pull up, dish and create for others. He’s a hard-nosed defender who adds length and speed to “Chicago toughness” and has the ability to guard all perimeter positions. He is shooting 35.5% from the field, 24.4% from the free throw line and 75% from the free throw line.

Marco Bourgault SOPH (2.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.1 blkpg) 6-6 G/F is junior college transfer who is a shooter who helps the Red Storm spread the floor and make room for its enhanced front-court contingent. Although he suffered a serious knee injury two years ago, Bourgault has completely healed and provides quality minutes. He shoots 34.5% from the field and 36.6 from the 3 point line.

-Bench

Amir Garrett SOPH (6.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.3 blkpg) 6-6 G/F who possesses superior athleticism. He’s a tenacious offensive threat who specializes in transition with hard drives to the rim that result in show-stopping dunks. He’s also a hard-nosed defender who has a penchant for swatting away shots. He shoots 47.1% from the field, 33.3% from the 3 point line and 53.6% from the free throw line.

Felix Balamou FR (2.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.4 apg) 6-4 G is an athletic wing with game-changing athleticism. He’s a dynamic scorer and finisher that possesses limitless athleticism and basketball smarts. His floor game is described as meteorically-rising and is known for his above-the-rim style of play. He shoots 44.4% from the field and 88.9% from the free throw line.

Christian Jones FR (2.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.4 apg) 6-7 F a wide-framed, rugged athlete. He owns standout offensive and defensive abilities from the low blocks. He’s a versatile and mature athlete that plays above the rim and rebounds with aggression at both ends of the floor. He shoots 45.5% from the field and 45.5% from the free throw line.

Chris Obekpa FR (3.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 apg) 6-9 F/C is an intimidating shotblocker and defensive game-changer. He was a consensus top 100 player overall and top 20 center by national recruiting services. He craves defense but boasts an offensive post-up game as well. He’s a powerful and aggressive rebounder. He’s an outstanding finisher with a developing 15-foot jumper. STJ is paced by Obekpa ranks as the conference leader in blocks after already setting a new Big East freshman record. With 102 rejections an average of 4.3 per game he is second among all NCAA Division I players in blocked shots. He has more rejections than 266 DI teams.

No doubt about it Cards fans this is a dangerous team. Their front court group is very impressive and they will make Gorgui, Chane and Wayne work for every basket they get. I expect Montrezl and Van Treese to play a bigger role due to physical nature of this game. Our starters are gonna need the rest after banging around with this group. This will be a good game for Russ and Peyton to shake off that last loss. Their experience should pay off against a much younger and inexperienced back court group of the Red Storm. And nothing like getting a respectable win in front of the home crowd to get things back on track. We all need this win and I’m very confident we will get it. This Red Storm group is gonna be hungry and very competitive but the more experienced Cards and the crowd in the KFC Yum Center will wear on these young guys mentally.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 78 St Johns 69