No. 3 Louisville basketball set for ultimate test in No. 19 Kentucky

F Jordan Nwora, Louisville

Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.

Louisville hopes that this adage stays true for their star forward on Saturday afternoon. Nwora is a college basketball superstar, and he’s earned respect as one of the top scorers in the country. Louisville doesn’t play as well when he’s not getting buckets, and they play like the top team in the nation when he is.

His play on Saturday will be huge in terms of whether or not the Cards can come out of Lexington with a victory. He’s improved on nearly every per-game statistic compared to his breakout sophomore season, and he’s had some incredible games so far. He leads all ACC players in scoring average at 21.2 points and he ranks 18th in the entire country in the category.

Nwora has always been a gifted scorer but what’s made him a better player this season is his improving play on the defensive end of the floor. He’s still got to become better as an on-ball defender but his length allows him to match up well with offensive players as well as wreak havoc around the basketball.

Nwora has been a top defender in the ACC in terms of defensive rating and defensive win shares, as he ranks 10th and 5th in those categories respectively. He’s only been held to under 20 points in four games so far this season, and he routinely leads his team in the points department. If Nwora can step up and score against Kentucky, he’ll improve his case for National Player of the Year, his draft stock, and the Cards would feel good about their chances to come home with a win.

G Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky

There’s something about Tyrese Maxey that makes him a special player, and he can step up when the lights are shining the brightest. He might not be playing his best basketball heading into this game, but he’s capable of lighting up a defense when he gets space. He’s one of the many talented freshmen in college basketball but he’s been one that’s gone through a deep struggle. After his season-opening 26 point performance that included him connecting on a dagger three-pointer to beat Michigan State, Maxey hasn’t performed to that same level of impact. He’s only reached the 20 point mark once and has been held under double-digits four times since that game. As they proved in their season-opening win, Kentucky is a much better basketball team when Maxey is hitting shots.

Maxey isn’t the most talented freshman that Calipari has brought in, but he’s got talent that will be used. He will eventually find his place in the Wildcat offense and Louisville hopes that he doesn’t get his shooting touch back against them because it could be a rough game if he does. We’ve seen it happen multiple times as Louisville fans, and it’s certainly a realistic possibility. The thing to watch with Maxey is how Louisville will guard him. I’m not sure who will be focused on Maxey but I’m sure Chris Mack has shown his team film of him against the Ohio State defense. Louisville loves to hedge on ball-screens near the top of the key, and Maxey struggled when the Buckeyes hedged against him. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts when the Cards throw that similar look at him.

G Darius Perry, Louisville

Fans were not happy when Darius Perry had one of the worst games of his career two weeks ago against Texas Tech. How do you think they’ll react if Perry does it again against Kentucky? It won’t be pretty, to say the least, and I’m hoping Perry can get in a rhythm against the Kentucky defense on Saturday afternoon.

He’s the Cards starter at point guard and he brings an unrivaled defensive intensity to the court when he’s on it. Perry has had a season filled with mostly positives, but fans have continually gone back to the one negative. The junior guard has a massive opportunity to change the fans’ narrative around his play, albeit a tough one.

Perry will be going up against Ashton Hagans, who is the leading scorer for Kentucky as well as their main facilitator on offense. Hagans is also one of the best defenders in all of college basketball and he’s hoping to give Darius Perry a tough time on offense.

Perry can’t play sloppy basketball or Hagans will take advantage of it. He also needs to play smart and understand what he has to do for the Cards to win. Perry is capable of stopping Hagans’ offensive game, and I’m not concerned about that. I’m just mainly concerned about how Hagans will nag him consistently with his top-notch defense.

Predictions:

Tristan Beckmann

Louisville 68, Kentucky 66.

• Dwayne Sutton scores 15-plus points
• Louisville holds Tyrese Maxey to less than 15 points
• Louisville hits a game-winner in the final minute