Basketball Set to Face Memphis -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Takes on Old Foe in Tigers

Louisville women's basketball (along with the men) will provide today's entertainment as Cardinals fans try to catch their breath ahead of tomorrow's volleyball national championship. Both normal occupants of the Yum! Center are on the road this week due to NCAA rules regarding the volleyball court remaining in place. WBB headed south on 65 and hung a right when they got to Nashville as they'll face the Memphis Tigers for the first time since 2014. 

Louisville and Memphis have long been foes, but the rivalry took a break in most sports when Louisville joined the ACC in 2014. The Cards and Tigers played 10 times from 2000-2014, and they've played 46 times in history. The all-time series is tied at 23, but Louisville won eight of the last ten games. The Cards have also won the last six meetings. 

Dating back to 1977, Louisville dropped the first game 89-67. Fastforwarding to the modern era, Louisville's smallest margin of victory over the Tigers came in 2004, when the Cards won 66-65. Proving just how fast things can change in college hoops, the Cards took their largest margin of victory just three seasons later in a 102-64 win. The Cards are 11-7 at home and 7-12 in Memphis. 

All of that goes to the wayside, though, when you look at teams that are playing for the first time in a decade. In Louisville's final non-conference game of the season, they'd be extremely disappointed to come away with anything but a significant victory in this one. This year's iteration of the Memphis Tigers is not a good one. They've started the season 2-8 and are currently on a seven-game losing streak. Their wins came over Mississippi Valley State and Samford. They've been beaten at home by Southeastern Louisiana and Murray State.

Although Louisville's last time out was nothing to write home about, this weekend's game should be a reset. We've said that a fair amount this season, but a road win over an old rival heading into Christmas break would at least be a palate cleanser after last week's home drubbing at the hands of NC State. Statistically, the Cards should have the upper hand. While they're only scoring 72.1 points per game, matching Memphis's output, the Cards give up just 67.7 to opponents, a fair shake off of the 83.3 the Tigers are yielding. 

Memphis is allowing opponents to shoot 45% from the field and they turn the ball over 17 times per game. Their transition defense leaves a bit to be desired as well, as Memphis opponents are averaging 20.1 points off turnovers. Louisville has been very hot and cold this season, but this is not a game in which they should be under pressure. One thing to look out for, and I'm sure it's on the scouting report (although we've talked about Louisville's performance against the scout), is Memphis from beyond the arc. They're only shooting 31% from there and averaging 5.7 makes per game, but those are both pretty well in line with what Louisville allows from their opponents. As we saw in the tournament last season, allowing a lesser team to get hot behind the line is a recipe for disaster. 

I am still bullish on Louisville's ability to turn it around this season. I really do think one complete game could be the spark they need. But, despite that, they've been unable to find it. Even in a 96-57 victory over Grambling State, we had plenty of nits to pick, and that game was sandwiched between a pair of stinkers. We'll see how the Cards respond to the NC State game today at 5PM on ESPNU.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have three on board today with Jared and Daryl taking the week off. Paulie, Jeff, and I will have plenty to discuss, and I imagine we'll spend quite a load of time on Thursday night's volleyball match and the big one on the horizon tomorrow. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case