Louisville is preparing for its first game in March Madness as they face off with South Florida on Thursday. They got a six seed in the NCAA Tournament after Louisville was bounced by Miami early in the ACC Tournament.
Now, Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 is sending the Cardinals a warning about their next opponent.
“If Louisville does not match South Florida's physicality, they will lose this game,” Goodman said when breaking down the Louisville matchup with South Florida.
Goodman also brought up the possibility of not having Mikel Brown Jr. Brown has been out with an injury and has been in and out of the lineup, which has led to some struggles for Louisville.
Still, playing against a physical team has also been the downfall of Louisville, and something head coach Pat Kelsey pointed out as an issue when they lost to Miami, per Michael McCammon of 247Sports.
“Give credit to Miami. It's a really good team, tough, physical, well-coached. They'll be a handful to deal with in March,” Kelsey said. “All the really good teams in the country are tough and physical. College basketball, it's at the top. It's football. It really is. We know the teams that we're going to have to beat to advance in the NCAA Tournament are going to be tough and physical and nasty, but so are the Cardinals.”
The Cardinals have not been the most physically imposing team, but USF has shown that it can play gritty when needed. This could come down to the big men for Louisville, according to Goodman, but if they do not rise to the occasion, it could be one and done for the Cardinals.
