Texas A&M - Louisville Preview
Louisville Cardinals (6) Vs. Texas A&M Aggies (3)
Saturday, 3/17 @ 3:40
Betting
Line From Bookmaker: Texas A&M -2.5
The Cardinals of Louisville beat the Cardinals of Stanford in round one 78- 58, while Texas A&M was victorious over Penn 68- 52. Louisville enjoyed an easy victory, while the Aggies had to work for their win.
The Louisville club out shot Stanford in every area putting in 49% from the floor and hitting penalty shots 75% of the time. On defense, Louisville nabbed 11 steals, but they committed 13 turnovers. Taking better care of the ball will be important against third seed Texas A&M.
Louisville forward Terrence Williams cannot put in the type of game against the Aggies that he had against Stanford where he grabbed only 2 rebounds and had no points. Junior swingman David Padgett made up for Williams with 16 points and freshman guard Edgar Sosa excelled, also hitting for 16. Freshman swing Earl Clark added 12 points, which was double his season average. Off the bench, freshman forward David Caracter had 12 points in 11 minutes.
Although the Aggies hit from the floor 47% of the time to Penn’s 36%, they only made 56% of their foul shots, while the Quakers were accurate 75% of the time. The Aggies had only 8 turnovers and on defense managed to block 5 shots and steal 4 balls.
Senior guard Acie Law IV played as advertised, hitting for 20 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Senior center Antanas Kavaliauskas, who has averaged 12.1 PPG, only threw in 5, while swiping 6 rebounds. Sophomore guard Josh Carter also had an off night, contributing merely 5 points. Guard Dominique Kirk really stepped it up with 16 points, while swingman Joseph Jones added his usual 14 points and took down 11 rebounds, almost double his season average.
In round one, the Texas A&M bench was almost silent, contributing only 8 points over 48 minutes. They must do more. This Louisville club, coached by Rick Pitino, got major contributions from all but one starter and big points off the bench. Starting forward Williams will be needed in this next game.
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