Louisville basketball vs. Prairie View A&M game preview
The Louisville basketball team is set to take on Prairie View A&M in game three of their MTE.
The Louisville basketball team is back in action for their third game in five days when they face off against the Prairie View A&M Panthers this evening.
The Cardinals are now 2-0 following their thrilling one-point victory over Seton Hall on Friday.
Prairie View A&M most recently snuck out a victory over Evansville on Friday.
Louisville will be without another key piece in this game after Samuell Williamson went down with an injury midway through the second half of their game against Seton Hall.
Paul Rogers reports during today's football pregame show that men's basketball player Samuell Williamson is day-to-day with his toe injury and will miss tomorrow's Prairie View A&M game.
— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) November 28, 2020
While this is a generally good diagnosis for Williamson, they will certainly miss him in this game with the Cards running thin on depth.
Chris Mack will be stuck running a (likely) seven-man rotation in this game so foul trouble cannot be afforded here.
Prairie View A&M was pegged in the preseason to finish No. 3 in the SWAC. So, the Panthers certainly are no pushovers heading into this matchup.
With all of that being said, let’s get into the Louisville – Prairie View A&M preview.
Who: Prairie View A&M Panthers (1-1) at Louisville Cardinals (2-0)
Where: KFC Yum! Center; Louisville, Kentucky
When: Sunday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. Eastern time
Spread: Louisville -25
TV: Regional Sports Networks (Fox Sports South in Louisville)
Projected starting lineups (via gocards.com)
Louisville (2-0)
F 11 Quinn Slazinski 6-8 215 So. Houston, Texas
F 14 Dre Davis 6-5 220 Fr. Indianapolis, Ind.
C 24 Jae’Lyn Withers 6-8 215 R-Fr. Charlotte, N.C.
G 1 Carlik Jones 6-2 185 Gr. Cincinnati, Ohio
G 13 David Johnson 6-5 210 So. Louisville, Ky.
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Prairie View A&M (1-1)
F 0 Lenell Henry 6-8 200 Sr. Chicago, Ill.
G 10 Jeremiah Gambrell 6-3 180 So. Houston, Texas
G 12 Faite Williams 6-2 175 Jr. Dickinson, Texas
G 15 Damari Parris 6-1 165 Gr. Prince George’s Co., Md.
G 22 Jawaun Daniels 6-7 190 Jr. Harlem, N.Y.
Important links
Players to watch for Prairie View A&M
The Panthers boast a pair of very good 6’7″ guards that are major contributors in Roberts and Daniels that could cause some matchup problems for the Cardinals. Williams is more of a natural guard that will likely be running the point for the Panthers today.
Players to watch for Louisville
C Aidan Igiehon – Igiehon’s minutes are about to get a big-time bump with the loss of Samuell Williamson and Louisville having to shift the guards around to make lineup combinations work. He showed some nice flashes defensively in the game against Seton Hall including a big block. He’s still raw, but I am still excited to see him work today.
F Quinn Slazinski – The theme is next man up for the Cardinals and that holds true for Slazinski. His role will be increased significantly and it was already growing before this one. Slazinski is a skilled offensive player who has shown a ton of improvement in man defense so far this season. Look for him to have a big coming out party in this game.
G David Johnson – He is yet to score in the double digits through both of Louisville’s games this year. He just hasn’t gotten into the same kind of groove that he was in at the end of ACC play last season where he was carving through defenses and showing his elite abilities as a slasher. It’s only a matter of time before Johnson explodes for a big game.
Final thoughts
This is a game that Louisville should win. However, trap games are very real and if the team were to get into foul trouble, it could really change the entire course of the game.
Similar to Louisville, the Panthers lack size inside so you would expect the Cardinals to win the rebounding battle as they did in the first game against Evansville. Prairie View A&M edged out Evansville by a couple of rebounds in their matchup.
Meanwhile, Louisville beat the Aces pretty badly in their game. Give the edge to the Cardinals on the boards.
Louisville’s defense has been tremendous in their first two game and I do not expect it to slow down in this game either. I assume Louisville will dominate, but perhaps more interesting is finding out who will be doing so alongside Carlik Jones.
Score prediction
Louisville 77, Prairie View A&M 50
As long as the Cardinals stay out of foul trouble, expect this one to be in hand very early for them. This game needs to be an injury free one with four normal rotational players currently injured and out of the lineup.
After today, we will see if Williamson and Nickelberry might return to the lineup by Tuesday against Western Kentucky. Until then, let’s watch on to see who steps up for the Cards today.
Next. Louisville football: 3 takeaways from the Boston College loss. dark