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Louisville Basketball: Lipscomb Scouting Report

By Robert Caudill

Dec 17, 2022; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne calls out instructions during the second half against the Florida A&M Rattlers at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Florida A&M 61-55. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2022; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne calls out instructions during the second half against the Florida A&M Rattlers at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Florida A&M 61-55. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Louisville continues its non-conference schedule tonight hosting Lipscomb at 6:00 PM EST. The Cardinals hope to continue the momentum against the Bison to extend their short win streak. The Atlantic Sun team has been competitive for years, but starts a young team this year. Below is a summary of players to watch out for.

Will Pruitt, a starter for Lipscomb, leads this offense with an average of 11.8 points per game and 2.5 assists per game. The guard is notable not only from the stat line above but by shooting  over 51% from three. Closing out on defenders will be important tonight with a player like this on the court. Pruitt has been able to take control of games when getting hot from three. For example, he scored 27 points against Michigan, jumpstarted by his ability to hit five threes. Lets hope this is not the case tonight.

Ahsan Asadullah is a 6’10″ center that’s averaging eight points, six rebounds, and over three assists a game. While the center is flashing the triple single averages, what stands out is how many assists Asadullah has this season. Louisville has not faced a big man who can pass as efficiently as he can. Lipscomb runs cut plays 8.6% of the time, which ranks 34th in the nation. A massive component of these cut plays is the Atlanta, Georgia native, so look for the Bison to continue to utilize Asadullah in this way.

Jacob Ognacevic is a 6’7″ forward that averages 15.8 points and over three rebounds a game.  The sophomore has started the last five out of 12 games for Lipscomb. Marked as a reserve for the previous seven games, he earned a starting spot with strong performances off the bench. The Sheboygan, Wisconsin native looks to score primarily in the paint, but also is a proven scorer in transition. Currently, he has the third most attempts for the Bison in transition.

Ognacevic is a tremendous asset for Lipscomb, a team that thrives in transition. With the Cardinals prone to turnovers, a team like Lipscomb could be dangerous. Limiting Ognacevic in transition should be one of Louisville’s priorities going into the game.

Led by Head Coach, Lennie Acuff, the Bison are a young team that has already played against Michigan and Notre Dame giving them experience against power five opponents. So this matchup against Louisville is not concerning for them.

A key point for Louisville to bring home their third straight victory is to limit turnovers and scoring droughts, which have been the same key points for them all season. With Lipscomb’s proven success in transition, they could easily capitalize off of Louisville, if they have trouble limiting turnovers.

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