Louisville basketball vs. Clemson Tigers gameday primer

After a late switcheroo, Louisville basketball is now scheduled for an unexpected conference tilt late on Wednesday night against Clemson.

We hope you do not have a bed time you need to stick with because this game could go well into the late stages of the night in the middle of the week.

After defeating Duke on Jan. 23, Louisville elected to schedule a matchup with the Tigers after Boston College was forced to postpone their game with the Cardinals scheduled for Jan. 30 due to Covid issues.

Now – with just two days of preparation – Chris Mack and the Cardinals embark on a road trip to South Carolina to take on Clemson who has really struggled in recent games.

After a 9-1 start to their season, Clemson has been blown out in three straight conference games. That can be partially blamed on a Covid pause prior to the losing streak.

In that span, the Tigers have not lost a game by any less than 19 points.

Meanwhile, after a two game losing streak and knocking off Duke on Saturday, the Cardinals have a bit of confidence to hold onto.

Louisville has shuffled in and out of the weekly top 25 rankings, but are most recently featured at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll for this week.

Let’s get into the matchup between Louisville and Clemson

Who: No. 25 Louisville Cardinals (10-3) at Clemson Tigers (9-4)

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum; Clemson, South Carolina

When: Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 9 pm eastern time

Spread: Clemson -2

TV: ACC Network Extra OR RSN (Fox Sports South in Louisville)

Projected starting lineups (via gocards.com)

Louisville Cardinals (10-3, 5-2)

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 6-1 185 Gr. Cincinnati, Ohio

G 13 David Johnson 6-5 210 So. Louisville, Ky.

Clemson Tigers (9-4, 3-4)

F 1 Jonathan Baehre 6-10 214 Sr. Wiesbaden, Germany

F 25 Aamir Simms 6-8.5 245 Sr. Palmyra, Va.

G 0 Clyde Trapp 6-4 203 Sr. Eastover, S.C.

G 2 Al-Amir Dawes 6-2 180 So. Newark, N.J.

G 15 John Newman III 6-5 207 Jr. Greensboro, N.C.

Players to watch for Clemson

F Aamir Simms – Clemson only has one player averaging double figures this season and it’s Simms. He plays a very similar game to Louisville’s Jae’Lyn Withers as a 6’8″ forward that can take folks off the dribble, shoot from long range, and just be a offensive playmaker. A physically imposing body that can make his presence known on the defensive end as well.

G Clyde Trapp – He is long and strong for the Tigers. Trapp has the ability to shoot it from anywhere at the floor off the catch-and-shoot. He gets tough buckets inside even if there is good defense played on you. Will not “wow” you with athleticism but he is a very good shooter and a gritty basketball player.

G Nick Honor – A small guard that can be big-time dangerous. He is an elite three-point shooter that has the ability to take over games on the offensive end. The Fordham transfer is in his first year at Clemson. But he is already making massive contributions.

Players to watch for Louisville

F Jae’Lyn Withers – This is a very intriguing matchup for him as he will get the opportunity to compete against Simms. The two are very similar players. While Simms is a senior, Withers is just a freshman who has come on very strong as of recent.

G/F Charles Minlend – Still, we wait for the emergence of Minlend as a threat on this team. In the last game against Duke, Minlend got his most minutes of the season. The problem is that he did not look like he was moving the way he did at San Francisco. Perhaps he attempts to play without a brace on in this game.

F Quinn Slazinski/Sam Williamson – Clearly, Chris Mack is waiting for one of these two to emerge as the primary four-man for Louisville. So far, neither has separated themselves as Slazinski got the start against Duke and struggled. Who will win out the spot?

Final thoughts

Clemson has not looked like remotely the same basketball team since their return from the Covid pause. Before the pause, they looked like a top 15-20 team in the country.

They’re a very deep team with only one true All-ACC caliber player in Simms on their squad. Clemson has been struggling with turnovers and field goal percentage as of recent so it will be important for Louisville to keep it that way and prevent momentum from getting away from them.

With just two days to prepare, this will very much be a coaching battle between Mack and Brad Brownell.

Score prediction

Louisville 80, Clemson 67

These teams have a fair amount of similarities to each other sprinkled in the starting five. But Clemson does not have a three-headed monster that Louisville has and that will be the difference in this game.

Even if Simms and Withers neutralize one another, Jones and David Johnson have the juice to carry Louisville to victory.

As we just mentioned, coaching is a big deal in a game scheduled on such notice and Mack is the better coach of the two. That will matter in this matchup.

Interestingly enough, Clemson is somehow a two-point favorite in this game. So if you are a betting person and you love the Cardinals, this could surely be the game for you to put some stake into.