DePaul versus Louisville Preview

                Happy DePaul Day. Louisville plays an old Big East foe Depaul Friday, 12/10/2021, at 8:00 PM EST. Since 1997, Louisville has a record of 19-2 against DePaul.  DePaul features this game with a 7-1 record with a win against Rutgers and a four point lose to Loyola Chicago.  Below you will find a summary of my thoughts of what to look for in Friday’s upcoming game.

                DePaul shows to be another good challenge for the battle on the glass. DePaul currently has a rebounding differential of 8.6 and shows to have different players that can make a difference on this side of the ball. Javon Freeman currently leads the team in rebounds per game (RPG) with 8.75 and followed by forward Brandon Johnson with 7.13 RPG. DePaul plays a big team size wise compared to Louisville and this will test our guards in terms of rebounding. DePaul has athletes on this team and plays at a faster pace that Louisville does. Javon Freeman currently leads the Big East in Points Per Game (PPG) and expect to see him spark DePauls offense come Friday. Metrics show that DePaul is not a good three point shooting team, but showed to make open shots against Duquesne. DePaul currently has two players who shoot over 40% in Freeman and McCauley. Look for this to be a part of what could make this a close game with Louisville playing the Pac Line defense and not closing out on open shooters. DePaul currently plays at fast pace, can make open 3s when need be, rebounds well, and shows to have a points per possession (PPS) of 1.19 which is fairly well for playing at a fast pace.

                Louisville coming off a high of a win Saturday looks to win its first game at the Yum Center with Coach Mack present. Louisville should be the clear favorite in this matchup, but they continue to still have trouble in stretches. They showed to have trouble with the Pac Line defense and having ball handlers penetrate off the dribble, which inexcusable and is what DePaul could do if this is not fixed. I may be wrong, but this seemed to show itself whenever Gabe was on the court last Saturday. I understand he is a big body in the paint, but I do not feel confident for him playing at this pace of play and would love a more athletic big man like Wheeler take the minutes whenever Malik is off the floor.

                Louisville has looked rough in their half court offense, and going off of Mack’s comments of criticizing no movement in making cuts to the basket, I hope this gets corrected soon. I hope this is corrected tomorrow or I could see this being a close game. El Ellis and Matt Cross are key pieces off of the bench that continue to have minutes. Since Jae’lyn Wither continues to struggle to find his role playing the four spot, look for Matt Cross to get more minutes moving forward.

                To wrap it all up, this will be a good test for Louisville tomorrow. Louisville will need to continue to rebound efficiently, tighten up with the Pac Line defense, and to have something running for the half court offense. DePaul day may not be as cheery as before.

Prediction: Louisville 78- 73 Depaul

Bench Player with over 10 points: El Ellis

@degenerateCARD       

Stats collected from teamrankings.com and foxsports.com