Predicting the 8 biggest games for Louisville basketball in 2019-20

vs. Texas Tech (Jimmy V Classic)

December 10th

The Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. There’s not a better way to showcase your abilities to the college basketball universe than this.

Remember in 2014 when Louisville trounced Indiana 94-74 in this showcase? That was great, but don’t expect the Cardinals to breeze past the Red Raiders with ease. Chris Beard is one of the best coaches in college hoops and despite losing a lot from his 2019 National Runner-Ups, this team is still very talented and can beat anybody on any given night.

The reason for this is because Beard brought in a lot of experience to help reload. They bring in Virginia Tech transfer Chris Clarke, who averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in 79 career games in Blacksburg. Alongside Clarke, the Red Raiders welcomed Stephen F. Austin transfer TJ Holyfield, who was a 1,000 point scorer there and is highly praised for his defensive prowess.

Beard also secured the commitment of top 40 guard Jahmius Ramsey, who is the highest-rated recruit in program history, as well as top 100 forward Terrence Shannon, and both guys will play significant roles as freshmen.

Combine all of these newcomers with the return of a great leader like Davide Moretti as well as the return of two key bench guys from last year’s squad in Kyler Edwards, and Texas Tech is a top 15 team in the nation.

This will be an extremely fun game to watch and I believe it’ll be competitive the entire way through. Louisville will have to figure out different ways to attack the Red Raiders defense, and a big game from Jordan Nwora or Steven Enoch would be very helpful.

The Cards also need to do their best to not let Moretti, Clarke, or Holyfield get locked in because they are all capable of taking over a game with their scoring abilities.

Similar to the Michigan game, this should be a slow-paced game with a bit more offense on one of the brightest stages in the sport. Expect big games from Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton, and expect to have rough anxiety throughout this one.

Prediction: Louisville gets over their past struggles of closing games and squeaks by Texas Tech. Louisville over Texas Tech, 70-66.