Mangok Mathiang is a Louisville basketball player that had his ups and downs on the court. In the game, before he hit this big shot he had played just 4 minutes fouling out. He was a player that took a lot of grief from the fans so it was good seeing him have his moment. The players were enjoying it too.

Reminds me of another guy who has been struggling…

As Coach Mack was pouring over old game footage preparing for this game he had to notice how VJ stood out against the Virginia pack line D. I think that he could really impact this game and hope he gets some clock.

VJ King has had a tough season and has had a career of ups and downs. But Virginia hasn’t been able to stop him. VJ is averaging 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds against the Cavaliers in his career. He scored a career-high 24 points against Virginia during his freshman season.

Virginia is one of the best teams in the country but they have shown a chink in the armor over the last few weeks. Including a clunker that almost cost them a home loss to Notre Dame. Our Cardinals have struggled on offense as of late, however, they are still a solid club and can be especially tough at home on the defensive end. Louisville is an impressive 13-3 at home this season.

I think an unlikely hero will emerge on Saturday. I think this Louisville team needs an unexpected outing from someone. Not only for this one but to make any kind of serious run down the stretch. There have been a lot of ”the game VJ King shows up” predictions and this is mine.

This Louisville team has battled the turnover bug all season… Over the last couple of weeks that has manifested itself into late game collapse. This team has to try and put that behind them and at this point, it might be just as mental as it is fundamental. I bet Coach Mack and his staff have gone over out of bounds plays a few times this week.

Protecting the basketball won’t get any easier tonight in the Dome. Coach Boeheim’s teams are known for that stingy two-three zone defense and having those very athletic and explosive wings on offense. Things aren’t any different this season as Syracuse ranks 20th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.397), 21st in blocked shots per game (4.9), 24th in scoring defense (64.3) and 21st in turnover margin (+3.6).

I’d love to see this Louisville team find some consistency and build some momentum after splitting their last 6 games. This team has done a good job of putting things behind them. They are resilient. They need to put the last three games behind them. Finishing this game tonight would be big. Hope our frontcourt comes to play. They will have to be active on the baseline and good passers against the zone.

It’s never a good time to go into Syracuse for a basketball game, but it gets even tougher this time of year. Cuse always has a strong kick to finish the year. The Cards will get their best effort tonight. I thought this would be one of the toughest games on our schedule and still believe that.

I’m optimistic. It’s easy to feel good when you have the best player. Tonight we have the best player. Jordan Nwora leads Louisville with an average of 17.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He will be playing in front of some home fans tonight. Hope he gives them a show.

They’ve had the gym busting at the seems full of Cardinals fans a few times this season and have fallen just short of the big victory. For me, the Kentucky and North Carolina games come to mind. Both times were an opportunity to seize a big moment but it didn’t happen.

They’ll get one final chance next weekend with Virginia coming to town but have a chance tonight not only to seize a big moment but to pull off what would be the biggest upset of the College Basketball season with Duke in town.

From the opening tip of the season, there has been one question in College basketball: How do you stop Zion Williamson and the very talented Blue Devils? Only two teams have been able to solve that riddle this season. Since that second loss Duke has been dominant.

They are playing their best basketball of the season right now, which includes seven straight wins and outscoring teams by an average of 20 points in their last five games. On the road this season a perfect 5-0 winning by an average of 14.2 points while shooting 51.4 percent from the field.

I tried to think back when Louisville played a team this dominant in basketball. I’m reminded of the NCAA Tourney game in 2013 when the women’s team played against Brittney Griner and that Baylor team. They said that there was no way Jeff Walz and his team could pull that off but they did.

Coach Walz used what he called the ”Claw and One” in that game to stop the 6-8 Griner. He had her surrounded the whole game while the Cardinals hit a barrage of Three-Point shots.

You have to think the Men’s team has a similar strategy planned tonight and that Coach Mack has installed some kind of gimmick D to slow down Zion Williamson. The trouble with Duke is if you slow him down what do you do with RJ Barrett who is averaging 23.1 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

Our Cardinals have split their last four games and are still looking for that statement victory. They got a wake-up call on Saturday in Tallahassee. Players mentioning after the game that they had got ”too comfortable” breaking team’s pressure. They will play against a long, athletic, fast, physical defense tonight.

The turnover bug can’t show its ugly head tonight for the Cardinals to have a chance. You have to think it’s going to take a lot of scoring and every possession will be important. Gotta think that we’ll need a lot of three-point buckets as well.

Tonight it’s about stepping up to the challenge and executing a great game plan. Would love to see Jordan Nwora have a big night. He’s been great but just like this team don’t think he’s had that one big statement this season. He’ll have to be big for the Cardinals to have a chance.

Here we are again. Primetime College Basketball game. Another chance for this Louisville team to get a bigtime win and seize a big moment for the Yum Center crowd. Let’s hope the blackout doesn’t end up a somber occasion. I can’t wait for the tip. Enjoy it, folks!

This Florida State team is playing some of their best basketball of the season. They play solid on the defensive end of the floor ranked 79th in FG% defense and 55th in steals per game. They are a physical team and crash the glass ranked 57th in rebound margin.

When you have to play a hard-nosed defensive and physical team on the road it’s going to be a challenge. To add to that challenge Florida State is also pretty good at getting the ball to the basket. They got six guys who can score consistently at every level.

Florida State is running into a pretty good Cardinal Basketball team. They have been really good on the road this season where they are winning games by an average of 12 points this season. They have won 4 of their last five ACC Road Trips.

The Cardinals defensive numbers have been trending upward over the last few weeks. Now up to 71st in the country in FG% Defense and up to 98th in the country in 3pt FG% defense. They have also become more consistent on the offensive end of the floor now one of the Top 55 teams in the country in scoring offense…

Our guys are finding ways to score even when Jordan is being kept in check by teams. Dwayne Sutton has been a beast. And CC has been running the offense like the seasoned veteran he is. I really don’t know where this team would be without these guys. Steven, Malik, and Ryan are also averaging 8 points a game during this stretch.

This Louisville team seems to play much looser and freely away from the Yum Center. For some reason, this team still gets the Home Game jitters. They have been all business away from the Yum Center and I really think they’ll match up well with FSU on Saturday afternoon.

Louisville has been the more consistent team and the Seminoles have failed a few times this year to raise their game against quality competition and is just 4-7 against the spread this season at home. I expect a battle but one that the Cardinals will win. Enjoy it, folks!

Virginia Tech embodies the personality of their head coach in their man-to-man defense: intense, tireless, and in your face. They don’t play a ton of zone, but if they see an opportunity to use it to their advantage, they won’t hesitate to exploit an opponent’s weakness.

This Hokie defense just held NC State to the lowest scoring output in the shot-clock era. Virginia Tech held the Wolfpack to just 16.7% shooting from the field and 7.1% shooting from beyond the arc. In their own gym.

The Hokies are ranked 66th in the Country and holding their opponents to an average of 62.1 ppg on 41.2% shooting from the field. They are also ranked 13th in scoring defense, and 19th in turnover margin.

Virginia Tech has been outstanding on both ends of the court as the Hokies rank 56th in scoring offense, 5th in FG% and 2nd in 3 point FG%. In Buzz’s offense, he will emphasize the paint touches, using their guards to slash to the lane and work the ball through the paint to find the open man. They will get to the free-throw line and kick it out for the bomb.

I don’t feel like our Cardinals took a step back on Saturday but they did fail to capitalize on another big moment. I felt like the toughness just wasn’t there on Saturday. The Cardinals have been tough on the Road. They have won 4 of their last six and is outscoring teams by an average of 10.7 points on the road this season.

Tough is the keyword tonight. It’s really going to take a gallant effort to get a win. Our guys have responded well this season after setbacks. Coach Mack has created a competitor culture since being in Louisville. These guys have lost games but not once have they quit. They keep competing. Jordan Nwora and Steve Enoch struggled in the last one. I think these guys will be key tonight. Nwora needs to own the perimeter and Enoch needs to own the paint.

Virginia Tech fans and their players have had this game tonight circled on the schedule. A 14 game losing streak to Louisville will be on the line tonight. They don’t get us this year that streak may get much bigger. With that in mind, I’m not overly confident in this one. I am confident our guys will play hard.

The Cardinals are riding a six-game win streak beating UNC, Boston College, Georgia Tech, NC State, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest in that time. Winning those games by an average of 18 points. Its the longest conference win streak in the Cardinals’ five years in the ACC.

This Louisville team has been able to build off of each win. Becoming more consistent on the offensive end of the floor and more deliberate on the defensive end of the floor.

The Cardinals have scored 80 or more points in 13 of its 21 games are 14th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency by Kenpom and second in the ACC in scoring offense. Louisville has allowed less than 55 points in three of its last four games and held nine opponents under 40 percent shooting on the year. The Cardinals are 24th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency by Kenpom.

Things have just continued to get better for the Cardinals since that win in Chapel Hill. It’s like this team used that game as a springboard.

The Tar Heels are currently sitting on a four-game winning streak of their own, taking out Notre Dame, Miami, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in that stretch. And I think they have probably used that home loss to the Cardinals as their springboard.

Their biggest challenge of this season so far is getting their pieces all working together and finding their identity. Roy Williams is known for playing a certain style, one characterized by a fast tempo, offensive rebounds, exceptionally tall front lines and shooting a lot of free throws, to name a few. They’ve been using their athletic advantages and doing those things more consistently currently ranked 12th in KenPom’s offensive efficiency they are also 13th in defensive efficiency.

The Cardinals are 28-2 since March 1, 2003, in home games against teams faced on the road earlier in the same season, as it will be when UofL plays North Carolina on Saturday. The Tarheels are currently 4-0 on the road in the ACC this season.

This is all set up to be one helluva a game. The Cardinals might have caught the Tarheels sleeping a little in that first matchup but you can bet they’ll be wide awake this time around. With nothing but payback in mind.

The Louisville Basketball program will pay homage to The Great One with the White Out theme on Saturday. Ali was at his best when facing his toughest challenges. One of my favorite Ali quotes:

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”

Louisville basketball fans and the guys on this Louisville Basketball team all know what it’s like to be defeated. We’ve been beaten to hell and back over the last couple of years. We have all waited for a big game like the one on Saturday. Top 20 matchup, big atmosphere, a battle for conference supremacy. The Program has made its way back.