Louisville is deep, tall and has an eclectic group of transfers while off to a 5-2 start this season.
The return to health of senior center Malik Williams has been pivotal, and he’s surrounded by transfers from Florida, Miami, Marshall, Western Carolina and one junior college standout.
The Cardinals have balanced scoring with only Florida transfer Noah Locke averaging in double figures at 11.1 points per game. UL also has nine players who are averaging at least 12.9 minutes per game. Marshall point guard transfer Jarrod West leads the way at 29.4 minutes per game.
Louisville plays at NC State at 2 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.
Overview
Louisville has definitely been test this season, with non-conference games against Mississippi State, Maryland and Michigan State. The Cardinals fell 73-64 to the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich., on Wednesday.
Louisville also inexplicably lost 80-72 to Furman in overtime on Nov. 12. The Paladins shot an impressive 12 of 28 from three-point range to pull off the upset, and even out-rebounded UL 43-41. Senior guard Mike Bothwell had 30 points for Furman.
Rankings
Louisville finished No. 58 in the NET rankings last year.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Cardinals currently ranked No. 33 overall, and NC State is No. 72.
KenPom.com has Louisville at No. 40, and NCSU checks in at No. 67.
RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 121 in the country, and Louisville is No. 32.
Shooting
Shooting has been a concern for Louisville, who is 42.3 percent from the field, 29.2 percent on three-point field goals and 67.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Former Florida guard Noah Locke is the most prolific three-point threat, shooting 15 of 45 on the season for 33.3 percent. Point guard Jarrod West, a Marshall transfer, is shooting 29.2 percent. Miami transfer Matt Cross is 7 of 20 from beyond the arc, and El Ellis of Durham, N.C., a junior college transfer, can get streaky hot, but is at 27.8 percent.
Rebounding
The athletic Cardinals are averaging 41.1 rebounds per game with senior center Malik Williams leading the way at 9.6 boards per game. Williams, Dre Davis and Samuell Williamson all have at least 10 offensive rebounds this season. Williamson and former Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg power forward Jae’Lyn Withers are both averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
Defense
Louisville has been hanging its hat on defense this season. Opponents are shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and 32.4 percent on three-pointers.
Williams has seven blocks and 12 steals, and West has 13 steals on the season.
Depth
Louisville plays six guys off the bench, including Ellis, who had 22 points and four three-pointers in 19 minutes against Michigan State.
Stretch four Cross and former Western Carolina guard Mason Faulkner also come in on the bench. Former NC State recruiting target Roosevelt Wheeler along with Gabe Wiznitzer add size in the middle, and forward Williamson was the No. 19 overall player in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com. Williamson is averaging 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game.
Star Watch
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Noah Locke has been a steady double-digit scorer whether at Florida or Louisville. He scored his 1,000 career point against Maryland.
Locke had 20 points and four three-pointers in the loss to Furman, and he’s reached double figures in five of seven games this season. He is averaging 11.1 points per game, and he averaged 10.6 a contest last year for Florida. He shot 43.2 percent from three-point land for the Gators in 2019-20, and 40.4 percent from beyond the arc last year.
Locke is coming off his worst game of the season, going scoreless on 0 of 7 shooting against Michigan State. He’s 5 of 28 from the field over his last three games.
NC State offered Locke coming out of Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh High, and also perhaps when he announced he was transferring from Florida. Rivals.com ranked him the No. 64 overall player in the class of 2018. He comes from a basketball family with his older brother Kayel Locke playing at North Carolina-Greensboro. His father, Kyle Locke, coached women’s basketball at Washington and Coppin State.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 180, Soph., 11.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg)
SG — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, Jr., 12.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.0 spg) or 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 160, Fr., 9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg)
SF — 1 Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-Soph., 21.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.6 spg)
PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr., 14.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C — 21 Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, Soph., 3.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.0 apg, 2.7 bpg)
Louisville
PG — 13 Jarrod West (5-11, 180, Sr.,
SG — 0 Noah Locke (6-3, 205, Sr., 11.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.7 apg)
SF — 14 Dre Davis (6-5, 220, Soph., 8.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.6 apg)
PF — 24 Jae’Lyn Withers (6-8, 230, Soph., 7.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.3 spg)
C — 5 Malik Williams (6-11, 250, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.0 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
3: Louisville players who have scored over 1,000 points in their college careers — Jarrod West, Noah Locke and Mason Faulkner.
6: Games this season where a bench player reached double figures for Louisville.
267: Career steals for point guard Jarrod West, which is third among active players in the country. He led CUSA with 2.5 steals per game last year at Marshall.
Game Within The Game: UL’s Malik Williams vs. NCSU’s Ebenezer Dowuona
Louisville senior center Malik Williams is healthy and playing well.
Williams battled foot problems last year and was limited to three games. He is averaging 8.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 27.0 minutes per game this season. The minutes and rebounds are both on page to be career-highs.
Williams has reached double figures in rebounds in four different games, including going for 13 points, 12 rebounds and four steals in the 63-55 win over Maryland on Nov. 27 in the Bahamas. He has some three-point range and could be a factor as a shot-blocker.
Williams was ranked No. 30 overall in the class of 2017 by Rivals.com, coming out of Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider High. NC State was among the colleges that recruited him and offered him a scholarship.
NC State sophomore center Ebenezer Dowuona has 14 blocked shots over his last two games, including a career-high eight against Nebraska on Wednesday. He is averaging 3.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
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