The Louisville basketball team will face their first ranked opponent of the 2020-21 season on Saturday.
For the first time since Dec. 1, Louisville basketball will be back on the floor this Saturday, Dec. 19 against Wisconsin.
These teams were originally scheduled to play on Dec. 9 at Wisconsin as part of the annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge, but Covid issues within the Louisville program forced the game to be postponed.
Louisville is now set to take on the No. 12 ranked Badgers in their first game in 18 days. Wisconsin has played three times in that span with a 2-1 record that included a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer to Marquette.
Wisconsin is a very tough matchup for a Louisville team that, according to Chris Mack, will be shorthanded for this game.
Mack said his guess is that seven or eight U of L scholarship players will be available for the Wisconsin game.
— Shannon Russell (@slrussell) December 17, 2020
Mack also said in the same press conference that 90 percent of his team has had Covid in the span that the team was on their lengthy break.
This will be cause for concern come game time to be certain. Wisconsin has plenty of players that can cause the Cardinals headaches.
Let’s take a look at three of Wisconsin’s biggest threats to Louisville in their matchup.
F Micah Potter
Potter is Wisconsin’s best offensive threat. The 6’10” redshirt senior is an elite pick & roll player for the Badgers.
In 2020, Potter is averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and shooting a healthy 54 percent from the field.
Pick and roll defense had to have been a focus for Louisville in practice leading up to this one as Potter is one of the best in the country at it. He and their star point guard (more on him later) are a duo that work in great unison with one another.
If Louisville’s defense off of screens is lacking, Potter will make you pay. He is a great athlete for his size and his low post game is very good with a wide array of moves including drop-steps and the ability to face up and shoot the midrange jumper over defenders.
The Ohio State transfer is shooting just a bit under a 50 percent clip from three-point range in 2020. He will be a problem and his bread and butter comes off of the screens he sets.
If the Cardinals want to win this game undermanned, stopping Potter and the point guard from getting easy buckets should be priority No. 1.