Louisville vs. Tennessee: Game Preview

A look at matchups, team statistics and ITV's keys to the game.

GAME FACTS

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2003
Time: 5:00 PM
Site: Thompson Bowling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Television: ESPN 2
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) - (Internet game broadcast)
Series History:  Louisville Leads 8-7 ( at home 4-5,  at Tennessee 3-1,  Neutral 1-0)
Last Meeting:  Louisville won 73-72, Dec. 20, 2001, at Freedom Hall.
National Rankings:  UT unranked AP, unranked USA Today/ESPN; Louisville is 9^th AP, 14th USA Today/ESPN
Significant injuries - Tennessee - None Louisville - None

#9 Louisville heads to Knoxville to take on Vols

The #9 Louisville Cardinals enter the game against Tennessee on an 12 game winning streak that has included key wins against #8 Kentucky at home, and Ohio State and Seton Hall on the road.  Off to their best start since the 1996-97 season, the Cards are 5-0 in C-USA for the first time ever and are doing it with defense.  The Cardinals have held each of its last 10 opponents under 40% shooting from the field and are winning by an average of over 20 points per game for the season.  In order to win on the road tomorrow, the Cards will need another stellar effort on the defensive end against the Vols balanced attack, led by SEC scoring leader, Ron Slay (21.6).

ITV KEYS TO THE GAME

The Cards have their work cut out for them tomorrow at Tennessee as the Volunteers have defeated 46 of the last 47 non-conference opponents who have visited Thompson-Boling Arena.  In order to extend the nation's second longest winning streak the Cards interior players will have to keep the physical Vols, who are outrebounding their opponents by 7 per game, off the glass.  Ellis Myles and Kendall Dartez will also have to keep Ron Slay, the SEC's leading scorer under wraps and force someone else from Tennessee to pick up the scoring slack.

The Vols backcourt of C.J Watson, a 6'2 freshman point guard who is second in the SEC in assists (5.5 apg) and John Higgins, who is shooting 50% (35-69) from behind the 3 point line will pose a formidable challenge to the Cards back court.  The Cards will need to apply constant pressure to the young Watson, a former Parade All-America, and keep the quick point guard out of lane where he causes most of his damage.  UofL's perimeter players will also have to extend its defense on Higgins as he's a threat to bury the three from anywhere on the perimeter.  If Higgins gets hot watch out, the Vols inside tandem of Slay and 6'10 Brandon Crump could have a field day if Higgins can open some room for them in the paint.

At the other end of the floor, the Cards have definite advantages in depth and offensive punch.  Tennessee's back court players will be hard pressed to stop the versatile, 6'6 Gaines and Marvin Stone will provide a stern test for sophomore center Brandon Crump of Tennessee.  The Cards leading shooters, Taquan Dean, Francisco Garcia, Eric Brown and Gaines could have a field from behind the line as the Vols perimeter defense is allowing its opponents to make 35.1% of their three point shots on the season, not a good percentage when facing the Cards excellent shooters.

It will also be important for the Cards to establish tempo early and keep the UT crowd quite and in its seats.  On the season the Vols are averaging 16.2 turnovers per game, so look for the Cards to apply heavy, full court pressure from the start in an attempt to rattle UT's Watson and establish a favorable pace for the game.

In the end, look for the Cards to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and for Myles, Dartez and Stone to control the paint against Tennessee.  The Cards depth and relentless pressure defense will be too much for theseVols to overcome and the Cards will bring home an 85-71 victory!

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Louisville Cardinals (13-1, 5-0)
Pos	No.	Name	Ht	Wt	Yr	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
F	2	Ellis Myles	6-8	235	Jr.	Compton, Calif.	7.8	8.8	2.1
F	33	Erik Brown	6-5	205	Sr.	Lexington, Ky.	6.5	2.8	1.2
C	21	Marvin Stone	6-10	240	Sr.	Huntsville, Ala.	13.4	7.8	1.8
G	5	Taquan Dean	6-3	175	Fr.	Neptune, N.J.	8.7	2.3	1.8
G	22	Reece Gaines	6-6	205	Sr.	Madison, Wis.	18.1	2.4	4.6

Tennessee Volunteers (9-5, 2-1)
Pos	No .	Name	Ht	Wt	Yr	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
F	21	Derek Stribling	6-6	185	So.	Tallahassee, Fla.	4.3	2.3	0.8
F	35	Ron Slay	6-8	240	Sr.	Nashville, Tenn.	21.6	7.9	2.4
F	4	Brandon Crump	6-10	235	So.	Houston, Texas	10.4	5.6	1.4
G	42	Jon Higgins	6-3	200	Sr.	Shaker Heights, Ohio	10.5	3.4	2.6
G	32	C.J. Watson	6-2	160	Fr.	Las Vegas, Nev.	9.7	4.6	5.5

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

Louisville	Statistical Category	Tennessee
84.1	Points	71.1
64.1	Opponent Points	66.3
+20.1	Scoring Margin	+4.8
49.0	FG %	45.1
38.6	Opponent FG %	40.9
38.0	3PT FG %	36.9
27.5	Opponent 3PT FG %	35.1
72.8	Free Throw %	74.6
38.8	Rebounds	37.7
34.1	Opponent Rebounds	30.6
+4.7	Rebounding Margin	+7.1
18.3	Assists	16.6
14.7	Turnovers	16.2
5.6	Blocks	3.7
6.9	Steals	7.4

Cards last five games
Date	Opponent	Result
Wed, Jan 8	at Charlotte	W 80-59
Sat, Jan 11	Saint Louis	W 73-54
Thu, Jan 16	at East Carolina	W 87-70
Sat, Jan 18	TCU	W 87-74
Wed, Jan 22	DePaul	W 71-43

Volunteers last five games
Date	Opponent	Result
Wed, Jan 8	Kentucky	L 71-74
Sat, Jan 11	at Mississippi	W 66-64
Wed, Jan 15	at Florida	L 64-77
Sat, Jan 18	Vanderbilt	W 71-66
Wed, Jan 22	at Georgia	L 76-81

TIDBITS

Louisville has held its last 10 opponents to under 40% shooting from the floor

Louisville is fifth in the nation in scoring at 84.1 points per game

Louisville is sixth in the nation in assists at 18.3 per game

Tennessee is 0-3 against ranked teams this season

Tennessee leads the SEC in free throw shooting at 74.6%

Tennessee is 13th in the nation in rebounding margin at 7.1 per game

Tennessee forward Ron Slay leads the SEC in scoring at 21.6 ppg.

Tennessee has won 46 of its last 47 home games against non-conference opponents