Syracuse Basketball: Top keys to victory in tilt with the Louisville Cardinals

The Syracuse basketball squad, following an idle week, gets back in action on Wednesday night with a pivotal encounter versus Louisville.

Over its next half-dozen games to culminate the 2018-19 regular season, the SU hoops outfit will have numerous huge chances to improve its positioning for an at-large invite to March Madness. Those prime opportunities begin on Wednesday evening when the ‘Cuse hosts No. 18 Louisville.

Syracuse (17-8, 8-4) looked totally lethargic in a blow-out loss at N.C. State on Feb. 13 and the Orange must better balance its scoring attack if it hopes to conquer the Cardinals (18-8, 9-4) or any of its other daunting foes who await in the near future. Against the Wolfpack, senior point guard Frank Howard had a decent performance, but the rest of the roster didn’t do much at all.

In fact, the ‘Cuse proved putrid from the field as a whole, from the charity stripe, and from beyond the arc. I get that SU relies a bunch on its defense to prevail, but the offense has to contribute, too.

From a statistical perspective, Louisville averages about seven more points per contest than Syracuse, but the Cardinals also allow roughly 3.5 additional points every 40 minutes. Louisville possesses the edge in rebounding and assists, while the Orange has an advantage in blocks and steals.

It’s imperative that the ‘Cuse holds its own on the glass. The Cardinals are a solid, albeit not a stellar, shooting unit, which means that when they misfire from the field, SU defenders in the 2-3 zone absolutely have to cover a man, not just an area. Limiting Louisville’s second-chance points is critical, and Syracuse also must crash the offensive boards.

This nationally televised match-up between the Orange and the Cardinals features tons of Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Dance ramifications. Both teams are hovering from fourth to sixth place at present in the league standings. Louisville, with a NCAA NET rating of 17 and a 5-3 road mark, is projected as a No. 5 seed in March Madness, according to the Bracket Matrix Web site. SU, No. 48 in the NCAA NET system and 12-4 on the Hill, is much closer to the bubble and viewed as a No. 9 seed at this juncture.

Chris Mack is in his initial stanza as the head coach of the Cardinals, after a terrific run at Xavier, where he reached the Elite Eight in 2017. To put it bluntly, Mack inherited a mess at Louisville, and what he’s done with the Cardinals so far deserves serious merit for ACC Coach of the Year, in my humble opinion.

Louisville spreads its production around, with six guys getting a minimum of seven points a game. That scares me, because I think that the Cardinals will exert a lot of pressure on the ‘Cuse zone. Another important facet is the turnover battle. Louisville commits about 13 miscues per contest, and Syracuse has to transfer these kinds of mistakes into easy transition buckets.

A term ago, the Orange outlasted the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center, and Louisville surely wants to return the favor on Wednesday at the Dome. It’s crucial that SU protects its turf and gains some momentum prior to welcoming No. 1 Duke to town this Saturday.