The Cardinals were able to get that elusive quality victory against UCONN on Saturday night and they look like a team that is starting to gel. They will play their second straight game on the road before an eight-day break when they face USF in Tampa, Fla. on Wednesday. Louisville has a 27-4 series advantage over USF, winning 13 of the last 14 matchups. Louisville won both meetings last season: 64-38 in Louisville and 59-41 in Tampa. The Bulls come into this game 1-4 in the AAC and are No. 175 in the Sagarin Ratings and No. 172 in the ratings percentage index (RPI) this week. The last time the Bulls beat a ranked team was Louisville back in 2012 at the Yum Center.

USF isn’t a great team but Stan Heath is a good coach who knows that the strength of his team is the defense and blocking shots on the interior. Heath comes from the forty minutes of hell philosophy learned during his time at Arkansas and defense has been the identity of his teams while at USF. They had a solid defense last year but didn’t have the size down low to finish strong and gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Heath hit the recruiting trail this past summer and got some guys he hopes will help.

Two of those young guys are leading his front-court this season. Chris Perry (9.3ppg, 5.7rpg, 0.4apg) and John Egbunu (8.1ppg, 6.9rpg, 0.4apg). They are joined in the front-court by the best player on the team Victor Rudd (15.3ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.9apg).
Perry has a 7-5 wingspan and is a traditional low-post player who likes to play around the basket. He ranks 16th in the conference in rebounding.
Egbunu has speed, leaping ability and a willingness to attack the rim. He ranks 7th in the conference in rebounding, averages the most of any freshman, 8th in blocked shots (1.4), 7th in offensive rebounding.
Rudd is a do it all athlete and a great all around player. He’s one of three players in the American Conference to rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. 10th in scoring, 6th in rebounding.

They are led in the back-court by three veteran players. Corey Allen Jr. (11.1ppg, 4.4rpg, 3.4apg), Martino Brock (8.3ppg, 3.1rpg, 1,5apg) and Anthony Collins (6.9ppg, 1.6rpg, 5.9apg).
Allen is a very active guard who knows how to use his hands and plays at a high level on both sides of the ball. He ranks 12th in steals and 13th in assist.
Brock is a lengthy guard who also has a knack for taking away the basketball. Allen and Brock combine for about 4 steals per game.
Collins is a very good defensive player in his own right and is great at getting his team-mates invoked. He looks to drive a dish.

USF comes into Wednesday’s game averaging 58.8 points-per-game, while shooting 38.9% from the floor and 31.3% from 3-point range. The Bulls are converting 68.4% of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, USF is allowing 62.2 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 42.2% from the floor. The Bulls are getting out-rebounded by their opponents 1011-1019 with a rebounding margin of -3.5 averaging 32.6 boards-per-contest.

USF
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
58.8
271st
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
32.6
120th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
12.8
184th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.38.9
198th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #181
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
– 102.5 ranks 140th
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
– 101.2 ranks 224th

Like I mentioned above this South Florida team isn’t a great one, but they do have some size and some decent talent in their front-court. They are a team that can create turnovers through steals and blocked shots. On the road, you don’t want to give the underdog team extra opportunities. And the Cards must take care of the basketball which they have been doing well. They are third in the nation in turnover margin (+6.5) and 37th in fewest turnovers per game (10.6). The Cards have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 12 of its last 22 games dating back to last year. Montrezl and Mango have been trending upward and they will get a good test by USF’s bigs. If our experienced post players can impose their will down low, they could really get in the young USF guys’ heads. I give them a slight advantage on the wing and Blackshear and Luke will have to play solid defense. Our back-court is far superior to theirs and that will be the biggest difference in this one. If Russ and Terry play solid basketball and get the other guys involved the Cards will be coming home with another road victory. Go Cards!