Louisville basketball: Cards vs. Miami game day central

One player to watch for each team

Samuell Williamson, Louisville F

I’m really trying not to overreact to an exhibition game, but Samuell Williamson looked like an incredible player for the Cards against Bellarmine. Williamson was the most highly touted of all the freshmen, and it is easy to see why.

He can score the basketball from any area on the court and he’s already an advanced defender for his age. The ACC snubbed Williamson from their preseason honors for freshmen, so he already has a chip on his shoulder. I believe that he earned a spot in the starting lineup with his excellent performance on Tuesday night, and it looks like he’ll be one of the Cardinal’s best scorers on offense.

With this kind of role and his talent, it is easy to understand how Williamson could be one of the best freshmen in not just the ACC, but all of college basketball. I’m really excited to watch him as he grows and develops over the course of the season, and I’m excited to see how he performs in his first game against an ACC opponent. If Williamson does what I believe he can and will do, I think he’d be the first one-and-done Louisville player in a long time.

Rodney Miller Jr., Miami C

When I looked at the game film from the Hurricanes exhibition, this guy really stood out to me. A 7’0 redshirt junior big man from Oak Hill Academy, Rodney Miller looked much more mobile than he did in years past and looked rejuvenated as he lost 45 pounds while redshirting last year.

He started for Miami and I think that it’s reasonable to expect him to start for the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Coach Larranaga has said that Miller is the most improved player on his team and he showed it as he poured in 16 points in 19 minutes on the floor in their exhibition win.

Out of high school, Miller was a consensus four-star recruit and was ranked in the top 100 by most recruiting experts. After a rough two seasons to begin his career in Coral Gables, Miller looks poised for a breakout season in 2019. I’m interested to see how the Cards match up with him, and I think it’ll be an entertaining matchup to watch if he goes head to head with Steven Enoch.

Keys to the Game:

Slow down Chris Lykes

Lykes is a star and we’ve already discussed that, but if he gets into the lane and creates his own shots, Louisville could be in some serious trouble. Don’t let his size fool you as he can score from anywhere on the court. Last season against Louisville, he had 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field in a game where the Cards overcame a 15 point first-half deficit. If Lykes catches fire, he could quickly put the Cards in a hole. He scored in double figures in 27 of 32 games last season, so stopping the junior guard is easier said than done. An interesting thing to watch will be the health of his knee, as he only played 12 minutes in the team’s exhibition win due to a minor knee contusion. Coach Larranaga insisted that this was just a precautionary measure, but Lykes may still not be at 100 percent health on Tuesday night.

Keeping Miami out of the lane and forcing them to settle for perimeter jumpers

One of the biggest issues from Louisville’s exhibition win was the fact that Bellarmine got into the lane with ease on many occasions. Having Steven Enoch would’ve certainly helped the Cards keep the Knights out of the lane, but everyone has to be better at this. Coach Mack emphasized this in his postgame comments, so it’ll be interesting to see if there are any improvements after a week’s worth of practice. If Louisville can keep Lykes out of the lane and avoid letting him create penetration, the Cards could force Miami into settling for some ugly jumpers, which is something that Louisville made Bellarmine settle for late in the second half. As a team, Miami shot just 33 percent from three last season and as long as DJ Vasiljevic, Kameron McGusty, or Lykes aren’t the ones shooting it. Vasiljevic and Lykes connected on 7 of 13 three-point attempts against the Cards last season, and Coach Mack is looking for his defense to halt those types of numbers from happening again.

Staying out of foul trouble

It felt like Steven Enoch consistently got called for cheap fouls last season that put him in foul trouble early on in games. With the Cards as banged up as they are, it’s not just Enoch who can’t afford to get in foul trouble, but rather the whole roster. In an era where fouls are often cheap, this is much harder to avoid. If some of the key players do find themselves in foul trouble, the bench will need to step up and deliver some key minutes, which is something that they really did not do against Bellarmine. I’m confident in the bench, however, and I know that they are far too talented for stinkers like Tuesday night to happen often.

Predictions:

Tristan Beckmann: Louisville 71, Miami 64.

• Cards overcome a double-digit first-half deficit.
• Jordan Nwora scores 30 points.
• Ryan McMahon hits four second-half three-pointers to help the Cards pull away.

Jacob Lane: Miami 81, Louisville 75.

• Chris Lykes scores 20-plus points.
• Jordan Nwora and Steven Enoch both have double-doubles.
• Cards walk away with more questions than answers.