NCAA Men’s Basketball: Louisville Cardinals vs Wisconsin Badgers – Possible Lineups and Predictions

After an initial postponement, the Wisconsin Badgers host the Louisville Cardinals today. They were supposed to play on December 9, but COVID issues in the Cardinals’ camp led to the delay.

The Badgers come into this fixture in red hot form, after losing just once in six games. Their only loss came against rivals Marquette who edged them out in a thrilling encounter. Wisconsin’s other games have been convincing wins, but they are yet to lock horns against a ranked opponent.

As for the Cardinals, they resume their season after a long break. The team last played a game on December 1 which resulted in a win against Western Kentucky. After that, they were dealing with COVID issues, which led to canceling and postponing of games, hence their record has stayed intact at 4-0 since then.

Expected lineups

The Badgers have maintained a consistent lineup this season. They are expected to start with Micah Potter, Aleem Ford, Nate Reuvers, D’Mitrik Trice, and Brad Davison. Porter is leading the team in both points and rebounds and he’s averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Cardinals faced an early woe in the season as Samuell Williamson injured his toe. As a result, coach Chris Mack introduced Quinn Slazinski into the lineup as his replacement. Williamson is healthy now but is expected to be under a minutes restriction and come off the bench.

So the Cardinals’ expected lineup should look like this: Quinn Slazinski, Jae’Lyn Withers, Dre Davis, Carlik Jones, and David Johnson.

Will the Wisconsin Badgers give the Louisville Cardinals their first loss of the season?

According to KenPom, the Badgers have the seventh-best defense in the country. So far they have averaged just 59.8 points scored against per game. Their hustle and energy on defense has been amazing along with their solid rim protection, as they average six blocks a game.

On the other hand, with five players averaging double figures in points, the Cardinals’ scorers are well spread out and Carlik Jones leads the chart with 17.3 points per game. This game is bound to be a good classic test of offense versus defense.

The Cardinals’ rustiness will be the major factor that could hinder them from winning. Their players have just recovered from COVID, and we could see some tired legs on the court. So the Badgers should be able to come away with the win. It will be a closely fought game, but the Badgers have more in their arsenal to try and clinch victory.