Louisville basketball: Beating Duke not easy, but possible for Cards

Boxing Out

Can the Cards game plan prevent one of the nation’s best at offensive rebounding from doing just that?

Louisville’s Coach Chris Mack has not been shy about both his expectations for his team in the rebounding category, nor the fact that, on a regular basis, he is not particularly satisfied with the results here either. The Cards will at least have to meet Coach Mack’s expectations in the middle Tuesday if they intend on putting any kind of dent in the Duke offense.

The Duke Blue Devils are 3rd in the country in offensive rebounding percentage. They, on average collect 37.4% of their misses off the offensive glass. You read that right, read it again. Duke rebounds more than one-third, almost two in five, of their missed shots.

It’s almost as if Chris Mack’s constant mention of Louisville’s need for improvement in rebounding has all lead up to this point. If there were ever a standardized exam for if the Cards were gaining ground in the skills of rebounding, boxing out and communication on defense this will be it.

The Blue Devils don’t have a particularly stout interior presence in a classic sense. Their starting lineup has only one player over 6-7 and he, Marques Bolden, is easily the must unremarkable player in the Duke starting lineup.

So how is then that Coach K’s team so expertly hits the offensive glass? And how can the Cards combat it?

The answers are simple: Effort and awareness, respectively.

For as much as people talk about the freakish athleticism of the once in a lifetime player, Zion Williamson, he often actually does not get credit where credit is due. More than a dunker or slasher, Williamson collects almost 4 offensive rebounds a game from a hybrid forward position. His strength and tenacity create a unique skill set that has to be spied upon.

Louisville will have to know where Williamson is at all times on the offensive end. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Coach Mack assign a single defender to chase the phenom freshman around the court and act as buffer between him and the rim. Knowing where Williamson is at all times, keeping a body on him,and thus preventing his offensive rebounds would automatically net the Blue Devils almost five less points per game.

While Dwayne Sutton will probably be tasked with this job as the starter, expect to see more than usual of VJ King in this game. The large bodied Forward is perhaps the player most equipped to handle the physical Williamson. For all of VJ’s faults as a scorer he has been an above average defender and rebounder in his limited minutes this season.

-Again, don’t forget to wear black(I’m looking at you Ilya).

-The game is at 9pm(EST) on ESPN and tickets are still available.

-Score Prediction: 78-75, Louisville
(Wishful thinking, but I get one “homer” prediction a season.)

-GO CARDS!