CARDINAL COUPLE

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Thursday, January 2, 2020

Back to Business -- WBB Visits Clemson -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Travel to Clemson

Now that the year has begun it is time to get back to business. Louisville Women's basketball plans to do just that when they visit Clemson tonight.  The Cards and Tigers will top off at 7:00 p.m., ET.  The game is slated to be aired on ACC Network Extra, or you can tune into Nick Curran and AJ on the radio on Cards Radio WKRD 790 AM.

The Tigers play their home games in Littlejohn Arena. I would expect a decent crowd for this one, with the Cards coming in as a top 10 squad and the general excitement about Clemson Sports playing a factor as well. Their football squad is playing for the National Championship and sometimes other programs will bring in highly ranked programs fot recognition and a cameo temperance to fire up the fan base and bolster attendance.

Attendance usually hovers around the 1400 mark for home games in Littlejohn. They did bring in almost 4300 against Alabama State (Education Day event) and 2830 for South Carolina.

Probably got a bad mushroom. The Clemson Tiger is
simply known as The Tiger, no nickname
. He needs sunglasses 
Louisville improved to 12-1 after a scare against Syracuse in the ACC opener.  The Cards have won
their last two conference road openers and are 15-1 on the road against the ACC the last two years.

Clemson (5-8) had a rough start to the year but has won two of their last three and sit at 1-1 in conference play.  Most recently, they went to South Bend and walked away with a 16-point win.  They gave Notre Dame their first home conference loss since joining the ACC in 2013.

Other than getting beat by South Carolina pretty badly the Tigers have been competitive in games.  The killer has been offense.  They've topped 70 points just five times in 13 outings.

Clemson averages 62.8 points per game.  Their shooting is pretty effective with a .404 mark from the field and .292 mark from three-point range.  Three-point shooting is not Clemson's go-to, as they have only made 59 on the year.  Turnovers have been a problem for the Tigers, who have 283 on the year, nearly 22 per game.

Scoring has been by committee with no particular player being the go to.  Kobi Thornton (13.5 points per game), Amari Robinson (11.& ppg), and Kendall Spray (10.2 ppg) have been the three top scorers with seven other players averaging between three and six points per game.  Thornton was a second team All-ACC member last season.

Spray has been the only deep range threat, making 34 treys and shooting 35%.  Her 34 three's ranks fifth in the ACC.  No one else has made more than nine.She was also ACC Player of the Week last week.

Thornton and Robinson have led the rebounding charge with 6.5 and 6.7 per game, respectively.  As a team, Clemson averages nearly 41 rebounds per game, two and a half more than their opponents.

Louisville owns the series with a 7-3 advantage.  They've also won seven straight, all coming since
the Cards joined the ACC.  The most recent meeting was in the ACC tournament, where the two teams went head-to-head for most of the game before the Cards pulled out a 75-67 win.

Our good friend Arthur should be in attendance and most likely fired up, now that he has returned from a thrilling Fiesta Bowl.  Perhaps he will make a cameo while we're watching the game from our phones and computers.

All in all, the Tigers are in a second year of a rebuild with head coach Amanda Butler, who we've pictured here. We're not sure if she's surfing, skateboarding or just trying to negotiate the walk from the bar to the car at the end of New Year's Eve...but she is a talented coach when not wind-surfing and the Tigers could pose a huge threat if Louisville stays with their recent "play to the level of their opponent" mode.

Planning ahead, the Cards return home this coming Sunday for a tip-off against Duke at 2:00 p.m.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

6 comments:

  1. Just for the fact they beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame gives me plenty of reasons to fear Clemson. Yes, it's a down year for Muffie and her dead mink around her neck, but Purcell Pavilion is a tough place to play.

    I do hope Cards take care of business.

    Shout out to my Clemson buddy Arthur. Have fun, pal!

    Curtis "Hope we aren't Tiger bait" Franklin

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  2. Hello Friends !

    Arthur here !

    Tonight's the night ! I get to see my two favorite WBB squads in action. My TIGERS and Louisville ! I am excited!

    We'll head to campus from here in Greer around 2 p.m. and check in to The Abernathy, a nice, charming hotel less than a mile from campus. They also offer us a shuttle service to and from the game -- there are several of us that use it for night WBB games, and so on for certain other athletic events. We've stayed there so many times over the last 20 years, I feel like I'm part of the staff.

    We'll dine early at Sole On The Green restaurant. Make sure and try it next time y'all get down here. An excellent salad bar and the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin is my go-to. The apple-onion jam that it is topped with is out of this world. Sometimes, we get lucky and they'll shuttle a group of us over there, but most times is an easy 10-minute drive for us.

    Then, we arrive early and watch warmups. The first shuttle goes over at 5:30 and we'll be on it.

    How do I see it?

    I think the Tigers have to worry about several things. First is Dana Evans. She'll be looking for a better outing than she had against Syracuse. She's better than out guards and we'll need to try and stop her from penetrating and creating.

    Jazmine Jones worries me to no end. When she is "on", there's very few in the nation that can stop her. Defending her straight-on mid-range jumper is a huge key.

    Kylee Shook needs to be held in check by Tylar and Kobi. If she is on her game, we'll be in trouble. Bionca Dunham is the Cards blue collar threat and keeping her off the boards will be a very tough task. I also feel that Elizabeth Balogun just might be ready for a big night. She killed us when she was at Georgia Tech. 23 points the first time and 16 in our second meeting against them last year.

    For us, it's getting Kendall open for threes and Destiny creating assists. Amari and Kobi crashing the boards and scoring off misses.

    We'll need a game in the sixties to have any hopes for a win. WE DO NOT WANT TO GET IN A RUN-OUT AGAINST LOUISVILLE !!

    The thing is, the Cards have probably 10 girls who can have a huge night against us. You've seen it and so have I this year. Evans, Jones, Shook, Balogun, Diop, Dunham...even Liz Dixon is overdue for a huge night...and the list goes on and on. It looks like we're starting to come around after a slow start, but this is #7 in the nation and 12-1 coming in here. I'm optimistic, but naturally worried.

    so, I'll be cheering for my Tigers tonight and it'll be the only time this season I won't be hoping Louisville wins.

    My buddy "Jolly Cholly" Charlie was teasing me last night via a phone conversation we were having, saying he wouldn't sit with me if I was in Cardinal Red. And, truth be told, I haven't decided on my outfit tonight.

    Good luck to both teams. I hope for a fun, exciting game and -- if you don't mind -- a narrow Clemson victory.

    I'm pretty much a winner either way it turns out, though. As many of you know, WBB is my second favorite sport after football and I'm proud to have dual allegiances on the hard wood with Louisville and my Tigers !

    Your Friend
    #1 Clemson Fan
    Arthur
    Greer, SC

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  3. Classic, Arthur.

    Thanks for checking in and sharing your game day experience and views on tonight's contest.

    Can we count on you for a post-game analysis tomorrow also?

    Paulie
    xxxxx

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  4. Arthur, I always enjoy your posts. As an ACC fan, I'm all-in on your Tigers vs. LSU.

    I expect a tough, low-scoring game tonight. Hope the Cardinals find a way to score a few more points than your Tigers.

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  5. You beat this suddenly "reborn" Clemson squad very easily by doing one thing. Playing Louisville basketball. Some of the pieces in the machinery may have changed this year, but, Louisville WBB is a destructive force and has the will to win.

    Nice comment Arthur ! I wish I had the fervor and time to follow my Cards the way you do your Tigers.

    Nick O.

    ReplyDelete

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