Louisville’s first real road test of the season comes with some familiar edge.
The No. 10 Cardinals head to Memphis on Sunday to renew a rivalry that has sat dormant for long stretches, and both teams arrive with something to prove. Louisville is 2-0 and coming off a lopsided 107-57 win over Morehead State, while Memphis is 2-1 after a rough Tuesday night in Nashville, where Vanderbilt rolled to a 105-81 victory.
Pat Kelsey’s group has already shown plenty of firepower. In the win over Morehead State, Louisville ripped off a 40-2 run to open the second half, including 33 straight points over an 11-minute stretch. That surge stands as the fifth-longest run in a game between two Division I schools.
The Cardinals have spread the scoring around early, with seven players averaging at least 10 points. Adrian Wooley, the lone scholarship holdover from last season, is leading the way at 13.5 points per game while adding 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals. Flory Bidunga, last season’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Kansas, is contributing 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Kelsey knows the challenge waiting in Memphis.
"We got to be on it," Kelsey said. "They have our guys' attention, and they know how dangerous this team is."
One area Louisville may try to attack is Memphis’ defense, which has been shaky through three games. The Tigers are allowing opponents to shoot 49.7% from the field, a mark that ranks 329th out of 361 teams. From deep, the numbers are even rougher: Memphis is 351st, with opponents hitting 42.1% of their 3-point tries.
That weakness showed up against Vanderbilt, which buried 15 of 32 shots from beyond the arc. Penny Hardaway wasn’t pleased.
"We want to get out there, not dare shots and contest everything," he said. "We're just not doing it yet. We'll just have to get better with that."
Louisville’s own perimeter numbers have been uneven. The Cardinals are taking 36.5 3-pointers per game, ninth-most in the country, but they’ve made just 30.1% of them. Inside the arc, though, they’ve been far more efficient, shooting 70.3% on 45-for-64.
Memphis also enters Sunday with injury questions hanging over two key players. Jayden Reid, who leads the team at 23.0 points per game, hurt his left ankle just a couple of minutes into the Vanderbilt game. He came back, but he finished with 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting in 30 minutes.
Luke Almodovar also took a hard hit, banging his head on the floor after a dunk midway through the second half. He did not return and ended with 21 points in 24 minutes.
Kelsey said Friday that he expects both players to be available Sunday. He also pointed out that he recruited Reid heavily when he was coaching at College of Charleston.
The rivalry itself has a long history, even if the schedule has left it on ice for stretches. Louisville and Memphis last met before last season on Dec. 16, 2017, at Madison Square Garden. The Cardinals won the most recent meeting 99-73 at home last season.
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