To help you get ready for Saturday's game between Kentucky and Louisville, Cats Illustrated's Travis Graf breaks down the personnel for each team and gives an advantage to one side or the other.
Point Guard
Carlik Jones vs Davion Mintz
Jones has been the unquestionable leader of this season’s Louisville squad. He is truly the straw that stirs the drink. The grad transfer leads the Cards in scoring and assists per game and has been their leading rebounder in a game as well. At just 6-foot-1, Jones has grabbed an impressive 6.4 rebounds per contest. Jones hasn’t shot many threes on the season (14), but is hitting 50-percent from the outside. The Cardinals offense is at its best when he’s able to get to the top of the key and rise for a shot or create for others.
Mintz has been a pleasant surprise for the ‘Cats early on as the blue chip freshmen continue to struggle. Against North Carolina, the grad transfer guard lead Kentucky with 17 points, due in part to him finding a hot hand from deep, draining 3 of 6 from behind the arc. He also grabbed eight rebounds in the losing effort. There’s no question that Kentucky has been at their best when he’s on the court in early season play.
Advantage: Louisville
Shooting Guard
David Johnson vs Terrence Clarke
Johnson has made a pretty significant jump in production early on in his sophomore campaign. The Trinity High School product is averaging 6.7 more points, 1.5 more assists and 3 more rebounds per game than he did a year ago. His outside shooting has improved quite a bit as well, up to 33-percent from 21-percent as a freshman. Johnson does the most damage when he’s able to get two feet into the paint and put pressure on the bigs, rather than settling for an outside shot attempt.
Clarke has been the definition of inconsistent through his six games this season. The 6-foot-7 wing has looked like Kentucky’s best player at times and the Wildcats have had some of their best stretches with him on the bench. The freshman is shooting just 26-percent from three-point land and an abysmal 47-percent from the free throw line. He’s a player who has to take the next step for the ‘Cats to turn things around.
Advantage: Louisville
Small Forward
Samuell Williamson vs BJ Boston
You could make an argument that Williamson is the X-factor in this matchup. In four games this season, the former five-star is averaging 11 points and seven boards for the Cards. The problem with Williamson during his time at Louisville has been his lack of a killer instinct and struggles with disappearing for long periods of time. If the Cards are going to win on Saturday, he must assert himself and help the bigs attack the glass. If Williamson can account for his season averages in this matchup, the Cards should be in good shape
.Boston’s shot has not translated from the high school level to the college level whatsoever. So far this season, freshman is shooting under 40-percent from the field and 17-percent from three. He’s getting wide open looks within the offense, but has been ice cold to start his collegiate career. It’s reasonable to think that the ‘Cats don’t win on Saturday without Boston suddenly finding his shot. He might be the most individually talented player in this entire game, but he has to start producing before you predict efficient results.
Advantage: Push
Power Forward
Dre’ Davis vs Isaiah Jackson
Despite his lack of size, Davis has been a very welcomed surprise for this Louisville squad. When he first arrived on campus, nobody knew what to expect long term let alone this soon. Through six games, Davis is scoring just under 10 points per game. His coming out party came against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers a few weeks ago, where he scored 21 points on 7-9 scoring. Davis does a good job of finishing plays made by the Louisville guards. He’s had a disappointing last couple of games after a hot start, but looks to bounce back against some Kentucky wings and bigs who are foul prone and struggle to move laterally.
Early on, Jackson has been one of the brightest spots for this young Kentucky team. He’s grabbed over 10 rebounds in three contests and leads the team on the glass. He also blocks an impressive 2.5 shots per game. Jackson swatted eight shots in the loss to Kansas. The super athletic freshman will need to stay on the floor Saturday to provide paint resistance against Louisville’s fantastic guard duo. This is key for Kentucky because he’s been in early foul trouble the majority of the time this season.
Advantage: Kentucky
Center
Jae’Lyn Withers vs Olivier Sarr
For a team lacking consistent big man play as well as muscle down low, Withers is the closest thing that resembles both. The redshirt freshman has shown promising spurts this season, averaging just under 10 points per game and grabbing 6.5 rebounds per content. He’s flashed an outside game that will get better over time, but does most of his work from the mid-range and in. Withers doesn’t provide much rim protection — only two blocks on the season — but he’s probably the best out of any Cardinal big at manning the paint in the pack line defense.
For Kentucky to have their best chance in this game, they need to run their offense through Olivier Sarr on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats’ offense is the most fluid when he gets a touch in the post and either makes a move or kicks out following a double-team. The problem is that the Kentucky offense has been reluctant to include him on a consistent basis. If they refuse to give him looks on the block, the ‘Cats will struggle to score once again.
Advantage: Kentucky
Bench
This is a tough one to call. Louisville has the two most productive bench players in the game in JJ Traynor and Quinn Slazinski but Kentucky has the deeper bench. The Cards also returned Josh Nickelberry last game. Nickelberry adds another shooting threat to the Louisville lineup that’s desperately been looking for some help in that department. A factor to consider is that Louisville recently had a three week layoff between games and Carlik Jones, the Cards’ best player, is still getting up to speed. The ‘Cats have another 6-foot-3 guard, two wings at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9 and another 6-foot-9 big to throw at Louisville to try and wear them out.
Push
Point Guard
Carlik Jones vs Davion Mintz
Jones has been the unquestionable leader of this season’s Louisville squad. He is truly the straw that stirs the drink. The grad transfer leads the Cards in scoring and assists per game and has been their leading rebounder in a game as well. At just 6-foot-1, Jones has grabbed an impressive 6.4 rebounds per contest. Jones hasn’t shot many threes on the season (14), but is hitting 50-percent from the outside. The Cardinals offense is at its best when he’s able to get to the top of the key and rise for a shot or create for others.
Mintz has been a pleasant surprise for the ‘Cats early on as the blue chip freshmen continue to struggle. Against North Carolina, the grad transfer guard lead Kentucky with 17 points, due in part to him finding a hot hand from deep, draining 3 of 6 from behind the arc. He also grabbed eight rebounds in the losing effort. There’s no question that Kentucky has been at their best when he’s on the court in early season play.
Advantage: Louisville
Shooting Guard
David Johnson vs Terrence Clarke
Johnson has made a pretty significant jump in production early on in his sophomore campaign. The Trinity High School product is averaging 6.7 more points, 1.5 more assists and 3 more rebounds per game than he did a year ago. His outside shooting has improved quite a bit as well, up to 33-percent from 21-percent as a freshman. Johnson does the most damage when he’s able to get two feet into the paint and put pressure on the bigs, rather than settling for an outside shot attempt.
Clarke has been the definition of inconsistent through his six games this season. The 6-foot-7 wing has looked like Kentucky’s best player at times and the Wildcats have had some of their best stretches with him on the bench. The freshman is shooting just 26-percent from three-point land and an abysmal 47-percent from the free throw line. He’s a player who has to take the next step for the ‘Cats to turn things around.
Advantage: Louisville
Small Forward
Samuell Williamson vs BJ Boston
You could make an argument that Williamson is the X-factor in this matchup. In four games this season, the former five-star is averaging 11 points and seven boards for the Cards. The problem with Williamson during his time at Louisville has been his lack of a killer instinct and struggles with disappearing for long periods of time. If the Cards are going to win on Saturday, he must assert himself and help the bigs attack the glass. If Williamson can account for his season averages in this matchup, the Cards should be in good shape
.Boston’s shot has not translated from the high school level to the college level whatsoever. So far this season, freshman is shooting under 40-percent from the field and 17-percent from three. He’s getting wide open looks within the offense, but has been ice cold to start his collegiate career. It’s reasonable to think that the ‘Cats don’t win on Saturday without Boston suddenly finding his shot. He might be the most individually talented player in this entire game, but he has to start producing before you predict efficient results.
Advantage: Push
Power Forward
Dre’ Davis vs Isaiah Jackson
Despite his lack of size, Davis has been a very welcomed surprise for this Louisville squad. When he first arrived on campus, nobody knew what to expect long term let alone this soon. Through six games, Davis is scoring just under 10 points per game. His coming out party came against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers a few weeks ago, where he scored 21 points on 7-9 scoring. Davis does a good job of finishing plays made by the Louisville guards. He’s had a disappointing last couple of games after a hot start, but looks to bounce back against some Kentucky wings and bigs who are foul prone and struggle to move laterally.
Early on, Jackson has been one of the brightest spots for this young Kentucky team. He’s grabbed over 10 rebounds in three contests and leads the team on the glass. He also blocks an impressive 2.5 shots per game. Jackson swatted eight shots in the loss to Kansas. The super athletic freshman will need to stay on the floor Saturday to provide paint resistance against Louisville’s fantastic guard duo. This is key for Kentucky because he’s been in early foul trouble the majority of the time this season.
Advantage: Kentucky
Center
Jae’Lyn Withers vs Olivier Sarr
For a team lacking consistent big man play as well as muscle down low, Withers is the closest thing that resembles both. The redshirt freshman has shown promising spurts this season, averaging just under 10 points per game and grabbing 6.5 rebounds per content. He’s flashed an outside game that will get better over time, but does most of his work from the mid-range and in. Withers doesn’t provide much rim protection — only two blocks on the season — but he’s probably the best out of any Cardinal big at manning the paint in the pack line defense.
For Kentucky to have their best chance in this game, they need to run their offense through Olivier Sarr on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats’ offense is the most fluid when he gets a touch in the post and either makes a move or kicks out following a double-team. The problem is that the Kentucky offense has been reluctant to include him on a consistent basis. If they refuse to give him looks on the block, the ‘Cats will struggle to score once again.
Advantage: Kentucky
Bench
This is a tough one to call. Louisville has the two most productive bench players in the game in JJ Traynor and Quinn Slazinski but Kentucky has the deeper bench. The Cards also returned Josh Nickelberry last game. Nickelberry adds another shooting threat to the Louisville lineup that’s desperately been looking for some help in that department. A factor to consider is that Louisville recently had a three week layoff between games and Carlik Jones, the Cards’ best player, is still getting up to speed. The ‘Cats have another 6-foot-3 guard, two wings at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9 and another 6-foot-9 big to throw at Louisville to try and wear them out.
Push
