Louisville basketball defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last night as the Cardinals secured their sixth ACC win and their 16th win on the season. The Cardinals are currently fighting for a double-bye in the ACC Tournament, as Louisville’s 6-4 conference record puts them two games behind the three- and four-seeds.
The Cardinals beat Notre Dame 76-65 last night, and they did it without starting power forward J’Vonne Hadley. The fifth-year senior was listed as probable in the injury reports leading up to the Cardinals' showdown with Notre Dame, but after three minutes of action, he was shut down for the remainder of the game.
While Hadley is one of the key players on this team, last night showed a new element of what Louisville’s frontcourt could look like. Cardinals fans saw production from two key players, and moving forward, they hope they continue to get some spotlight.
Louisville basketball’s bench just made a strong case for starting lineup change
Last night, after Hadley was shut down, Pat Kelsey was forced to call someone else’s number to step up. Kelsey turned to Khani Rooths and Kasean Pryor for a bigger role with Hadley out, and the two gave Louisville a huge boost off the bench.
Rooths went on to secure his second straight double-double since returning from his illness as he collected 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Pryror returned to the floor for the first time since Louisville’s win over Pitt and earned 10 points and five rebounds.
Louisville has been in need of an answer to its frontcourt woes, as the Cardinals have struggled mightily against teams with size and length. However, this duo off the bench last night gave the Cardinals a much-needed boost that should be considered moving forward.
There are a lot of lineup changes that could be made moving forward, but something to consider is moving Rooths to the starting lineup at power forward, and if Pryor can continue to play like this, he can be a key 6-foot-10 bench piece. Louisville fans saw how important depth is last season, and Pryor brings energy while playing physically on both ends of the floor. He has had a roller coaster of a season, but last night he showed he adds a new element, hitting fadeaway jump shots while also standing tall on the block and being a force down low.
Kelsey did state that he won’t change his starting lineup, but the Cardinals' slow starts and size disadvantage at the power forward position might force Kelsey to make a move. Hadley reportedly took a hard fall during practice earlier this week, and his status for Saturday is uncertain.
There is no debate. Hadley is a key piece to this team, and Louisville needs him on the floor. But if the Cardinals consider moving him to small forward and play Rooths and Pryor at power forward, this team’s frontcourt has a much higher ceiling. Louisville will need size and length down low when March rolls around, and McKneely, playing small forward at 6-foot-4, has shown time and again to be at a disadvantage.
Louisville is 7-1 when Rooths plays 20 minutes or more and in those eight games the 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward is averaging 10.9 points and 8.0 rebounds. Rooths is a star in the making but needs the opportunity to shine.
This was just one game, but Pryor showed a lot of promise. If Hadley is unavailable on Saturday, it will force Kelsey to start Rooths and see what this team is like with Rooths and Pryor running the power forward position. If the duo has a game like they did last night, Kelsey will have to consider moving Hadley to small forward and Rooths to the starting lineup.
Louisville basketball will play Wake Forest Saturday, at noon local time.