Louisville basketball: Three keys to knocking off Minnesota
Louisville basketball faces the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday with a chance to grab only their second NCAA tournament win in four years. We dissect the Gophers and how the Cards can beat them.
When Louisville basketball squares off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday, the storyline of the day is certain to be about off-court drama.
Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino’s son, Richard, will meet with the Cards in the first round, and the talking points nationally will write themselves.
However, during the actual game, Louisville will have a battle on it’s hands against a solid Minnesota team making it’s second NCAA tournament appearance under the younger Pitino. We take a look at what the Cards will need to do in order to walk away with a win.
Win the free throw battle
First and foremost, if Louisville is going to beat Minnesota, the Cards have to do what they do when they are at their best: Get to the free throw line.
Louisville has shied away from contact in late-game situations, but they must find ways to prevent that from happening on Thursday afternoon. The Cards need to come out the gate as the aggressor, and force the officials to either call a tight game, or assert their dominance physically.
Minnesota is 9th in the country, and first in the Big Ten, in free throws attempted. However, the Gophers are 277th in the nation in free throw percentage. Meanwhile, Louisville doesn’t get to the line nearly as often, but they are 10th in the country in free throw percentage.
The Cards not only need to go to the line a lot, but they need this to be a game where they continue their excellent free throw shooting ways. Minnesota may draw a lot of fouls, but they don’t have much to show for it. If Louisville gets into a free throw shooting contest, it’s advantage: Cards.
Hang on to the ball
Particularly of late, Louisville has struggled to hang onto the ball. Fortunately, they showed signs against Notre Dame and North Carolina in the ACC tournament of being able to win the turnover battle.
Minnesota is not what Louisville fans came to know of a Pitino-coached defense. They don’t press as often, and they only force 11.3 turnovers a game, good for 268th in the country. The Cards can certainly handle this Gophers defense, but they have to avoid silly mistakes.
Louisville’s leaders, Jordan Nwora, Christen Cunningham, and Dwayne Sutton have to be locked in against a team who is content with letting you make your own mistakes.
Be men on the glass
As Ryan McMahon put it after Louisville’s last win over Notre Dame, their gameplan to finish the season has been to “be men on the glass.”
After snagging 200 rebounds over four games, Louisville was handled on the glass against UNC. Up next, the Cards will face one of the toughest rebounding teams in the Big Ten. Minnesota is a poor shooting team, and they know it. They get a ton of their points by crashing the offensive glass, or limiting opponents to only one chance.
Louisville has a notable size advantage against Minnesota, and they will need to continue working towards “being men,” boxing out, and making the right plays.
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If the Cards can be the aggressors on the glass, limit their turnovers, and stay consistent on the glass, a rematch with Michigan State should await them Saturday.