Our 4-0 Louisville Cardinals are set to do battle again on Saturday at 2:00 PM EST in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. This will be one of two games the Cards will play at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut this weekend. The Fairfield Stags are up first and this will be the first time the Cards and Stags have met on the hardwood. The Stags were picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Fairfield is a team that likes to run the Princeton offense. They like their back door cuts and want to slow their opponents down and pick them apart. They have succeeded in slowing teams down this season holding them to around 59 points a game. These guys did have the 27th ranked defense in the country last season. On the offensive side of the ball they have struggled to pick teams apart and make shots effectively. They have made 80 field goals this season on 40% shooting and 24 three pointers on 32% shooting. They are also having trouble taking care of the ball averaging 18 turnovers a game. Not good when facing the Cards. Marcus Gilbert (11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds a game) is their leading scorer. He made the MAAC All-Rookie team last season. His brother Malcolm Gilbert (4.2 points, 5.2 rebounds a game) a former top-20 center by multiple recruiting services, transferred from Pitt to play with him. He provides size and athleticism for the Stags when he’s in the game giving starting center Amadou Sidibe (7 points, 6.8 rebounds a game) a rest. The Stags also get quality minutes from another player who transferred from the Big East in Sean Grennan (3.8 points, 2 rebounds a game). He played for Seton Hall as a freshman, and has made an immediate impact on a Fairfield backcourt that was left bare thanks to graduation. Grennan is regarded as an excellent shooter and can get hot from behind the arc. The guy running the point for this team is K.J. Rose (7.5 points, 2.5 rebounds a game). The leader of this team is senior Maurice Barrow (6.2 points, 5 rebounds a game). He was named to the All-MAAC Preseason Third Team.

Fairfield
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
55.3
345th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
39.8
106th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
11.0
275th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.398
304th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #255
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-98.5 ranks 80th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
-91.6 ranks 340th

This is the weekend that the Cards should get a chance to play a quality opponent in North Carolina. But first the Tarheels must get past Richmond and our guys have to take care of business against the Stags. An article was written in ESPN stating that it was time to start talking about Louisville. They are rolling right along this season with one of the lowest turnover rates in the country averaging just 6 a game and according to Kenpom are the top team in the nation with a 116.9 offensive adjustment efficiency and a 87.9 defensive adjustment efficiency. The Cards will have to be on their toes to guard the back door cuts in the Fairfield game and should get their toughest test of the season against UNC if all goes as expected. Im looking forward to two great days of basketball. Go Cards.