It’s been too long since our Cardinals have had a win over conference rival Virginia. The Cavaliers have made their way up my shit list of College teams over the last few years. Not only do they make you set thru their deliberate and frustrating approach on offense and defense for 40 minutes they usually win. The Cardinals have lost the last eight games in this series.
During that time the basketball Gods have been pretty unkind to Louisville with that devastating one-point loss to them a year ago this week. Enough is enough. It’s the Cardinals turn for a win in this game?
A few weeks ago I jumped the gun and pulled out my VJ King prediction. Haven’t we all made that prediction? I had saved it up and really thought the last game against Virginia we might see something. But this team was in the midst of an offensive funk.
A funk so bad that it seen Louisville have some of their worst totals in a while scoring 59 points and a low of 49 over that three-game stretch. It was really encouraging to see them put up 75 against Notre Dame. They scored points and scored in different ways. Oh, and VJ King made his return.
VJ really looks like he has regained some confidence. He has had success playing against Virginia averaging 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds. He scored a career-high 24 points against Virginia during his freshman season. I think he’s capable of a big game today.
Jordan also returned to form with 20 points and 11 rebounds against Notre Dame. It was good to see Malik Williams double-double for the Cardinals in that one with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Think these guys could play a big role today.
This is like a final exam for this Louisville team. They had moments this season where they looked really good and here lately have looked really bad. The live by the three die by the three mentality is fun to watch when it works out. Not so much when it doesn’t.
Maybe this team learned during that losing streak not to rely so heavily on the outside shot. Maybe they ”just learned” during this brutal conference stretch. This team should be pretty tough at this point. They’ve had a week to prepare for this finale.
Today is our day Louisville fans. VJ King will Beast out and will be proclaimed the King Slayer. This Louisville team has been solid on the road. Today we see the return of the Road Dogs. Please, basketball Gods!
Go Cards!