03-08-2025, 09:48 AM
Louisville favored by 10.5 (opened at 14.5), O/U is 146.5, implied score is 78.5 - 68. The Cards (not Card) come in with a record of 24-6, 17-2 in the ACC, & 13-3 at home. They have an 8-game winning streak and have won 18 of their last 19 games.
In the ACC teams stats, Louisville ranks: 4thd in scoring offense (79.7 ppg); 5th in scoring defense (69.2 ppg); 3rd in scoring margin (+10.5); 3rd in rebounds (37.5 rpg); 3rd in rebounding margin (+4.2); & 2nd in 3pt FGs (9.8/game).
As if they needed any other edge, it will be Senior Day. Not really sure if that will be much of a big deal at dear old U of L though. There is one player of the 16 on their roster who played at Louisville last season. And even he spent 2 years at Maryland before transferring to Louisville. He has appeared in 9 games this season, playing a total of less than 9 minutes, and put up a stat line of 1 foul, 1 steal, and 1-2 from the free throw line. This team is truly the poster child for the transfer portal. Even the coach (Pat Kelsey) is new this year. He came from the College of Charleston and brought 4 players with him. He is favored by many to be the ACC Coach of the Year. He certainly provided a model for how to build a top 15 team in this era. And he'll undoubtedly try to duplicate it next year, as his current team has 12 players in their senior year or beyond.
The Cards are led by Chucky Hepburn (#24, 6'2/190 Sr G) who was a 3-year starter at Wisconsin. He ranks 12th in the ACC in scoring (16.3ppg); 3rd in assists (5.9/game); 1st in steals (2.4/game); and 13th in 3pt FGs with 1.9/game. All these stats are nice, but to me Chucky's best asset has nothing to do with any of them. I believe he's a shoo-in for the ACC, if not national, Most Outstanding Hair award. His afro is one of the most admirable I've seen since Josh Childress.
Other likely starters are:
#5 Terrence Edwards Jr. (6'6/205 5th G/F) who scores 15.8ppg (15th) after spending 4 years at James Madison where he was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year last season, following up being named 6th Man of the Year & 2nd team All-SBC as a junior. Edwards has come on strong in the last 7 games, averaging 21 points over that stretch, including a season-high 35 vs. Cal.
#1 J'Vonne Hadley (6'6/215 5th G) who ranks 10th in rebounds (7.3rpg) and scores 12.4ppg on 52% shooting. Louisville is his 4th stop and some of you might remember him from his past 2 seasons at Colorado where he was a starter for 2 seasons;
#0 James Scott (6'11/220 So F) who ranks 16th in rebounds (6.3rpg) and scores 7.2 ppg on 74%(!!) shooting. He is one of the College of Charleston guys and was the Coastal Athletic Association Rookie of the Year last season;
#6 Reyne Smith (6'2/190 Sr G) who scores 13.4ppg including 106 3pt FGs (1st) 38.3% 3pt shooting (2nd). Reyne (pronounced rain) has perhaps the most appropriate name in the ACC given his productivity from beyond the arc. Smith, from Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia, is another College of Charleston guy who was 2nd team All-CAA. He sustained an ankle injury during the Cal game and his status was described as day-to-day at Kelsey's press conference yesterday.
Other players can be expected to play significant minutes include: Noah Waterman (#93, 6'11/230 6th F), Khani Rooths (#9, 6'8/205 Fr F), and Aboubacar Traore (#25, 6'5/205 Sr F).
Here is a preview from the Louisville perspective: https://www.cardchronicle.com/2025/3/7/2...rd-preview
Key line from that preview: "The skill and athleticism advantage in this game should be firmly on the side of Louisville."
If Stanford could pull out a win today, it would be as surprising as the 38-35 gridiron victory over the Cardinals in November. Louisville needs a win today (or an unlikely Clemson loss to Va Tech) to finish 2nd in the ACC (or 1st if Duke stumbles at UNC). Stanford needs a win or a Georgia Tech loss at Wake Forest today to finish 7th. With the standings so tight at this point, it's difficult to project ACC tourney match-ups, but finishing 7th rather than 8th theoretically would give Stanford marginally "easier" games. More importantly, playing a competitive game against a team like Louisville could be important psychologically as Stanford moves on to tournament play (although I thought Stanford's gritty win over SMU would give them some momentum going into South Bend, so what do I know??).
In the ACC teams stats, Louisville ranks: 4thd in scoring offense (79.7 ppg); 5th in scoring defense (69.2 ppg); 3rd in scoring margin (+10.5); 3rd in rebounds (37.5 rpg); 3rd in rebounding margin (+4.2); & 2nd in 3pt FGs (9.8/game).
As if they needed any other edge, it will be Senior Day. Not really sure if that will be much of a big deal at dear old U of L though. There is one player of the 16 on their roster who played at Louisville last season. And even he spent 2 years at Maryland before transferring to Louisville. He has appeared in 9 games this season, playing a total of less than 9 minutes, and put up a stat line of 1 foul, 1 steal, and 1-2 from the free throw line. This team is truly the poster child for the transfer portal. Even the coach (Pat Kelsey) is new this year. He came from the College of Charleston and brought 4 players with him. He is favored by many to be the ACC Coach of the Year. He certainly provided a model for how to build a top 15 team in this era. And he'll undoubtedly try to duplicate it next year, as his current team has 12 players in their senior year or beyond.
The Cards are led by Chucky Hepburn (#24, 6'2/190 Sr G) who was a 3-year starter at Wisconsin. He ranks 12th in the ACC in scoring (16.3ppg); 3rd in assists (5.9/game); 1st in steals (2.4/game); and 13th in 3pt FGs with 1.9/game. All these stats are nice, but to me Chucky's best asset has nothing to do with any of them. I believe he's a shoo-in for the ACC, if not national, Most Outstanding Hair award. His afro is one of the most admirable I've seen since Josh Childress.
Other likely starters are:
#5 Terrence Edwards Jr. (6'6/205 5th G/F) who scores 15.8ppg (15th) after spending 4 years at James Madison where he was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year last season, following up being named 6th Man of the Year & 2nd team All-SBC as a junior. Edwards has come on strong in the last 7 games, averaging 21 points over that stretch, including a season-high 35 vs. Cal.
#1 J'Vonne Hadley (6'6/215 5th G) who ranks 10th in rebounds (7.3rpg) and scores 12.4ppg on 52% shooting. Louisville is his 4th stop and some of you might remember him from his past 2 seasons at Colorado where he was a starter for 2 seasons;
#0 James Scott (6'11/220 So F) who ranks 16th in rebounds (6.3rpg) and scores 7.2 ppg on 74%(!!) shooting. He is one of the College of Charleston guys and was the Coastal Athletic Association Rookie of the Year last season;
#6 Reyne Smith (6'2/190 Sr G) who scores 13.4ppg including 106 3pt FGs (1st) 38.3% 3pt shooting (2nd). Reyne (pronounced rain) has perhaps the most appropriate name in the ACC given his productivity from beyond the arc. Smith, from Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia, is another College of Charleston guy who was 2nd team All-CAA. He sustained an ankle injury during the Cal game and his status was described as day-to-day at Kelsey's press conference yesterday.
Other players can be expected to play significant minutes include: Noah Waterman (#93, 6'11/230 6th F), Khani Rooths (#9, 6'8/205 Fr F), and Aboubacar Traore (#25, 6'5/205 Sr F).
Here is a preview from the Louisville perspective: https://www.cardchronicle.com/2025/3/7/2...rd-preview
Key line from that preview: "The skill and athleticism advantage in this game should be firmly on the side of Louisville."
If Stanford could pull out a win today, it would be as surprising as the 38-35 gridiron victory over the Cardinals in November. Louisville needs a win today (or an unlikely Clemson loss to Va Tech) to finish 2nd in the ACC (or 1st if Duke stumbles at UNC). Stanford needs a win or a Georgia Tech loss at Wake Forest today to finish 7th. With the standings so tight at this point, it's difficult to project ACC tourney match-ups, but finishing 7th rather than 8th theoretically would give Stanford marginally "easier" games. More importantly, playing a competitive game against a team like Louisville could be important psychologically as Stanford moves on to tournament play (although I thought Stanford's gritty win over SMU would give them some momentum going into South Bend, so what do I know??).