Know the Foe: Louisville

After their first loss of the season, the Tigers return to FedExForum for another tough test against Louisville. It will be the second meeting of the six-game contract and the meeting in Memphis since 2014.

The Cardinals enter the game with a 2-0 record, and Pat Kelsey is looking for his best season since taking over at Louisville. Kelsey is in his third season with the Cardinals, and he has a 53-19 record through 72 games. 

Kelsey lost some key pieces from last year’s team, but he brought in some big time players during the offseason. The head coach signed the No. 22 recruiting class, bringing in three freshmen and the No. 2 transfer portal in the country. 

Louisville’s portal class was headlined by players like Seth Tremble, Jackson Shelstad and Flory Bidunga, who was considered one of the top players in the transfer portal. The Cardinals also added Iowa transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, who people might remember as the player who hit the game-winning three against Florida in the NCAA Tournament last year.

In addition to the players added in the offseason, Louisville also returned guard Adrian Wooley, who is currently leading the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game.

While Wooley is leading the team in scoring, seven players are averaging 10 or more points per game, and Bidunga has been a seamless fit to the team. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 13 points, eight rebounds, an assist and a block through two games, and he ranks No. 82 in the country in two-point percentage.

Trimble is another name that people should be familiar with after he spent four seasons with North Carolina. He is part of the class of 2022 eligibility group, and he was granted eligibility and elected to transfer to Louisville. 

One name that won’t be familiar to many people is Obinna Ekezie Jr. The 7-foot-2 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria is averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game through his first two collegiate games, and he ranks No. 7 in offensive rating and No. 26 in block percentage, according to KenPom.

As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from deep. They do a nice job grabbing rebounds, and they haven’t turned the ball over much through two games.

This will be the first challenging game for Kelsey’s team after starting the season with wins over Chattanooga and Morehead State, and it will be the team’s first road game of the year. The Cardinals will play two more games before they head to Las Vegas for the Players Era 16 during Thanksgiving week.