2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Team Previews—Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals are set to enter the 2012-13 season as the No. 2 team in the country in both the AP and USA Today preseason polls. The team is stacked with talent, which is why they’re going to be expected to do great things come late in the year.
Odds to Win (By bovada.lv)
2013 NCAA Tournament: 8 to 1
2013 Big East Tournament: 3 to 1
The hype is high this season for the Cardinals, but legendary head coach Rick Pitino is the right guy to lead the way and meet such lofty expectations.
Last Year’s Results
The Louisville Cardinals made the Final Four last season, which is the ultimate testament to how good they were defensively. On the offensive end, this team struggled all season. They couldn’t score and they shot just 42.5 percent from the field, which was only good enough for 225th in the nation. Unable to outscore their opponents on a regular basis, the team was just 10-8 in conference play and 30-10 overall on the season.
Their defense, however, is what won them games and led them deep into the NCAA tournament. The team was a four-seed, and despite taking down No. 1 Michigan State in the Sweet 16, they fell to the eventual champion Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Four.
Roster Changes
Louisville may not have an elite recruiting class coming in this season, but they do have a four-star power forward in Montrezl Harrell set to join the roster. The 6’8” freshman is ranked 90th on ESPN’s top 100 recruits. He is a bit of a tweener, as he’s not a true power forward or small forward at this point, but he can explode above the rim or test defenses in the mid-range game.
The Cardinals are losing their No. 1 scorer from last season, Kyle Kuric. Averaging 12.6 points per game isn’t much to celebrate on the grand stage, but for an offense that struggled mightily last season, they’re going to need players to step up in his place if they want to score points.
Key Players
Senior Peyton Siva may not be a superstar, but as a senior, he is going to be counted upon to help spark the offense this season. The Cardinals ranked an abysmal 155th in the nation last year in scoring, averaging just 68.8 points per contest. Siva showed he can score from the outside his freshman year, but in recent seasons he’s become more known for his ability to simply break down a defense. His playmaking abilities must remain high, but increasing his points wouldn’t hurt, either.
One of the players Siva will look to defer to if his shot isn’t falling is junior shooting guard Russ Smith. Smith was the team’s second-leading scorer last season, but at just 11.5 points per game, he’ll need to improve in that department as well. [ad-6571516]
On the block, Gorgui Dieng is going to be The Man for the Cardinals. He averaged 9.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks as a sophomore a season ago, and his ability to impact both ends of the floor will be crucial to this team’s success.
Key Games
Louisville is set to take on their first ranked opponent Dec. 15 (No. 17 Memphis Tigers), but the game circled on everybody’s calendars is going to be Dec. 29 against the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky knocked the Cardinals out off the Final Four last season, and coach Pitino and his returning squad will want more than revenge; they’ll want to prove they’re better this time around.
The final three games of the Cardinals’ season will be the toughest stretch of the year. They face No. 9 Syracuse, No. 24 Cincinnati and No. 22 Notre Dame to close out their schedule, which should be a good test of quality opponents before heading into tournament play.
2013 Prediction
Entering the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the entire country, the Cardinals are a safe bet to win the Big East this season. Their offense could prove to be a problem once again this year, but if coach Pitino implements the defensive mentality for which he’s become known, this team can beat virtually anybody in the country on any given night.
If this team finds success in their own conference, they could very well earn a No. 1 seed come tournament time. If this is the case, the Cardinals will be expected to make another deep run, and with more experience on the roster, advancing beyond the Final Four could finally come to fruition.
