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.

After tonight the final 10 games of the season will include a game with #9 UNC, #2 Duke, Two games with #3 UVA, a game with #12 VT, a game with #25 FSU… and game at Syracuse. Cuse isn’t ranked but there aren’t any easy ones at the Carrier Dome in late February. Folks this is a stretch run. We are going to really find out what this team is made of over the next few weeks.

Tonight will feature teams going in different directions in the ACC. Wake Forest has lost six of their last seven games and has been dismal on the offensive end of the floor shooting just 38% from the field in their last five games. It’s hard to make any kind of argument for the Demon Deacons in this game other than they have the home court.

In contrast, our Cardinals enter this game playing their best ball of the season and are shooting 46.7% from the field while winning by an average of 16.2 points during their five-game winning streak. Louisville is outscoring teams by an average of 10 points on the road this season. The Cardinals have won three of their last five road games.

I don’t know what is going to happen as this team faces the toughest part of their schedule after tonight. But it has been fun up to this point and I’d like to believe that Coach Mack has been building these guys for the stretch run. I’m looking forward to it.

This Louisville team has been rolling thru the Conference Schedule winning 4 of their 5 ACC games so far by double-digits. They have done that with great offensive play. This Louisville team can score points in a hurry bringing back the ”boom” we had learned to love. They are currently ranked #46 in the country in scoring offense.

They have also done it by taking better care of the basketball. This team was a turnover machine during the first part of the season but have now become one of the better teams in the country at not giving away the ball. The Cardinals are ranked #68 in the country in Fewest Turnovers.

This group had to learn a whole new defense this season under Coach Mack and it has taken them a little longer to come together on that end of the floor. But during this current 3 game winning streak, they have seen those numbers come up. Now up to 105th in Field Goal % defense and 127th in Three Point Field Goal %. I’m excited to see this team when the lights really come on.

It’ll take a good defensive effort tonight against a good Wolfpack team. As a team, NC State is averaging the 6th-most points per game in the country, putting up 86.7 points per game, shooting 49.4% from the field, 38.1% from 3-point range and 69.8% from the foul line this season.

This NC State team is hard to defend 17th in assists per game and do a great job at giving themselves second-chance points. They hit the glass. They are ranked 10th in the country in Rebound Margin. They will get after the Cardinals on defense as well ranked 10th in Turnovers Forced.

It should be a great game between two well-coached and scrappy ACC teams. If this Louisville team plays as they have been they shouldn’t have any problem taking care of business. They can’t afford a slow start tonight either. Especially as efficient as the Wolfpack is on offense.

This Louisville Basketball team had nowhere to go but up when Chris Mack and his staff got to campus. They were energized by the change and you could see some of the results immediately. The new season gets started and this team appeared to be making some great strides. They beat Michigan State, Seton Hall and demolished Central Arkansas. Then they take that trip to Bloomington. This is the game where I believe this team hit its wall. They haven’t played a really solid game since especially on the defensive side of the ball.

I’m sure it was exciting for the guys learning some new stuff and getting to do something new every day in practice. But the honeymoon is over. Now it’s all becoming more routine. The grind of a College Basketball season has set in. These guys are now competing against the opponent and themselves. Coach Mack mentioned the lack of effort on defense in his pre-game press conference today. It takes digging deep to play that slap the floor defense every trip down the floor.

In that solid three-game stretch I mentioned above the Cards averaged 3 blocks, 5 steals, 12 turnovers forced and 12.6 points off those turnovers. In the last three games they have averaged 2.6 blocks, 2.6 steals, 11.3 turnovers forced, and only 10.3 points off of those turnovers. You can see how those important defensive numbers have dropped off a bit. And the ”defensive kills” that Coach Mack preaches have also dropped off. They had 8 kills in that great win against Seton Hall I think they might have had 1 maybe 2 against Pitt on Wednesday.

This North Carolina team presents a match-up problem with most teams they play due to their length and athletic ability. The Cardinals are going to have to play great in transition defense and limit the Tar Heels in their fast break points. And they must have a good day on the glass just to be able to stay in this game. UNC has scored 280 points off turnovers and average 18.7 points a game off turnovers. They have 205 fast break points this season averaging 13.7 fast break points a game. That’s 32.4 points a game off of those opportunities. Cards have to limit these opportunities.

Even slowing that part of the UNC game plan they still have some pretty good players to stop. Luke Maye, Kenny Williams, and Cameron Johnson are one of the best trios in all of college hoops. They each have their names at the top of every statistical category at UNC. If these three guys have a great day it won’t be a good one for Louisville.

I’m not too concerned with this Louisville team on offense. I think we have enough firepower to compete with anyone. But this team has been too careless with the ball on the offensive end of the floor. In the games against Mich St, Seton Hall and Central Arkansas the Cardinals had 36 turnovers. They had 18 turnovers in the last game alone. The turnover bug has bit this team all season. If they turn the ball over Saturday they will get run…

All of this talk of walls in the news lately… The only wall I’m worried about is the one this Louisville team is facing. This team has done some things wrong but they have never given up. Not last year, not this year. I love this Louisville group. All of the adversity these young guys have faced and they stuck it out. I will be behind them win or lose.

In saying all of that I am cautiously optimistic for tonight’s game. Every dog or in this case Cat has their day. This is a tough schedule spot for the Cardinals with another road game at UNC to follow. This Pittsburgh program is starting to get some of its mojo back since the hire of first-year coach Jeff Capel. He has this Pitt team scrapping on the defensive side of the Basketball and they’ve been a competitive bunch this season.

About that defense… Pitt ranks third in the ACC and 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.378). The Panthers have held seven opponents below 40.0 percent shooting from the field. They’ve been an even better defensive team at home allowing 63 points on 37.6 percent shooting.

The Cardinals are going to need some of the offensive outburst they had in the last game tonight. They are averaging 79.4 points on 45.1 percent shooting coming into this one.
Jordan Nwora has been the most consistent offensive player we’ve had this season averaging 17.9 points a game. Think he is the difference maker tonight. Pitt is going to have a hard time matching up with him. But as good as Pitt’s been defensively Louisville has to have some other guys step up.

I think that Ryan McMahon could be a guy to watch tonight. He’s coming off a good game on Sunday and seems to have some of the confidence back. And think VJ is due for a good one. His athleticism could be really effective tonight, especially around the rim. Throw it up and if you miss let him go get em and put them back in. I think we are on to something there. Dude has putbacks like no other.

I like the Cards defensively in this one. I think things are starting to click more on that end of the floor. They were very active and communicative on Sunday. Especially in the second half. Five of Pitt’s top six scorers are newcomers with first-year players accounting for 67.2 percent (717-of-1066) of the team’s scoring on the season. So if our Cardinals lockdown on the young fellas they should be able to win the battle on this end.

Like I mentioned above. This one has me nervous. I think it ends up being a defensive battle. And on the road in those types of games advantage usually goes to the home team. I’m just hoping that the petting Zoo doesn’t bite back in this one tonight. Hoping for the win but really wouldn’t be shocked if it was a tough loss. This game is an important big picture game with a battle at UNC looming.
Enjoy Folks!