Louisville basketball: Cards vs. Akron gameday central

Louisville basketball flying high as they welcome Akron into the KFC Yum! Center for a Sunday night fight to conclude the Global Sports Shootout.

There haven’t been many moments this season when Louisville basketball fans had reason to worry, but there were a few of them in Wednesday’s game against SC Upstate. The Cards trailed by three with just over 14 minutes to play, and their offense looked quite stagnant. The Spartans managed to score just 7 points throughout the rest of the game, and the Cards walked away with a 26-point victory that was much closer than the score says.

For the first time this season, the Cards may have overlooked their opponent. Chris Mack aims to use the struggles of that game as a valuable lesson for his team as they prepare to host the Akron Zips on Sunday night. Most fans should recognize Akron, and it might be the first school some actually know of in the Global Sports Shootout.

The second-ranked Cardinals cannot overlook this Akron team, because, on paper, they are a much more talented team than SC Upstate. The Zips have won all three of their games in the Global Sports Shootout, by an average margin of 20.3 points. They sit at 4-1 and their only loss was to West Virginia. It was a 10 point road loss to the Mountaineers, who still remain undefeated.

Akron is coming off of a rough season, however, and they’re in the midst of trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament as the MAC representative. Akron finished 17-16 last season but they lost two of their top scorers in Daniel Utomi (transferred to USC) and Jimond Ivey (graduated). The Zips have four players scoring in double-figures so far this season, led by Tyler Cheese, Loren Cristian Jackson, Channel Banks, and Xeyrius Williams.

TeamRankings gives Akron the third-best odds at winning the MAC Tournament. Akron is one of those teams that should be capable of making Louisville play their best basketball and I could certainly see them keeping up with the Cards for a while. The Zips have a solid coach in John Groce, who was the head coach at Illinois for five seasons before being dismissed in 2017. Groce has been to the NCAA Tournament three times and has actually been to the Sweet 16 once, back in 2012 in his final year at Ohio.

There was certainly a mix of positives and negatives from the Cards game against Upstate, but Chris Mack is probably focusing on the negatives more. The positives? Malik Williams and David Johnson returned to the court, capping off incredibly fast recoveries. 10 players scored in the game, although only two reached double-figures. Unsurprisingly, Jordan Nwora led the team in scoring with 28 points. Dwayne Sutton led the team in rebounding with 15 boards, including 7 offensive rebounds. Ryan McMahon also poured in 15 points as he drained five three-pointers.

The matchup against Akron will be the final game in what was a relatively easy stretch of non-conference opponents leading into the Western Kentucky and Michigan games. Despite looking overmatched, the Zips won’t back down from this challenge and they are going to put their best foot forward as they prepare to challenge the Cards on Sunday. With that in mind, let’s take a look at everything you need to know ahead of the game.

Who: #2 Louisville Cardinals vs. Akron Zips

Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky

When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 24th

Tickets: As low as $6 per StubHub.com

Previous Meeting and Series: Louisville defeated Akron 111-85 at Freedom Hall in 2005 in the only meeting between the two programs.

How To Watch: ACC Network.

How To Listen: WHAS 840 AM.

Big Red Louie Podcast:

Players To Watch:

Tyler Cheese, Akron G

Akron’s leading scorer and best three-point shooter through five games, Tyler Cheese is making a name for himself as one of the best players in the MAC in his final season as a Zip. The 6’5 guard came to Akron last season as a JUCO player from Florida Southwestern State College, and he’s been impactful since he arrived. Last season, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals while starting 24 games. He only shot 29.3 percent from beyond the arc as well. This season? Cheese has averaged 15.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He’s also started off the season on a tear from deep, hitting 11 of his 27 three-point attempts, good enough for a 40.7 percent clip. Cheese can score at all three levels and he’s proven himself to be one of the key guys in John Groce’s rotation every night on the court. Louisville cannot afford to let Cheese find opportunities to score, whether it be by attacking the rim, pulling up from mid-range, or taking a three.

Darius Perry, Louisville G

I’ve talked extensively about how different Darius Perry looks as a player thus far in 2019, and it’s been an incredible thing to watch. Last year, Perry was almost completely out of the rotation, not fitting into Chris Mack’s system. Perry realized that he needed to adjust as a player and he went into this offseason with many goals, including being the team’s opening night starter at point guard. Perry’s work was recognized by coaches and players throughout the offseason, and he was productive. He is the team’s starting point guard and he is adjusting to his new role extremely well. He’s not scoring as much, averaging only 6.6 points per game, but he’s dishing out 7 assists per game and limiting his turnovers, only 8 through five games. If Perry continues to be this successful when leading the offense, I would not be shocked to see Coach Mack give him a bit more time on the court, especially as we dive into the tougher part of the schedule.

Predictions:

Tristan Beckmann: Louisville 74, Akron 56.

• David Johnson scores in double-figures.
• Samuell Williamson scores 15 points.
• Jordan Nwora leads the team in scoring.