The No. 11 Louisville Cardinals return to the home court on Thursday when they face Jackson State, and a repeat of what happened in Monday’s openers for both schools is not out of the question.
The Cardinals (1-0) rocked South Carolina State 104-45. In producing the sixth-widest margin of victory in program history, Louisville held its opponent to just 22.8% shooting (13-of-57) and forced the Bulldogs into 25 turnovers. South Carolina State’s starters only scored four combined points.
Offensively, the Cardinals had five players score in double figures and shared the ball effectively, recording 23 assists on 33 baskets.
In a game that was essentially over early — Louisville started with a 13-0 run and led 59-15 at halftime — coach Pat Kelsey said he was pleased with how his team played throughout the game.
“I felt like they stayed true to our pick-and-roll coverage responsibilities, our transition defense responsibilities, our guard-the-ball (approach), our gaps,” Kelsey said after the win. “Because of that, we will get better coming out of this game. If it’s 10 minutes left, and we’re up by a bunch and we just start hanging out, then we take a step backwards.”
Khani Rooths led all Louisville scorers, getting 12 of his career-high 20 points in the second half. One of the few holdovers from last year’s team, the sophomore grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists.
Isaac McKneely, a transfer from Virginia, finished with 17 points and connected on 5-of-11 3-point shots. J’Vonne Hadley, the lone full-time starter returning from last season, added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Thursday’s game with the Tigers (0-1) will be the last tune-up for the Cardinals prior to them hosting archrival Kentucky next Tuesday night in what could be a top-10 matchup.
Jackson State is beginning its season with a nonconference gauntlet, playing games against six schools that made last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Tigers play their first five games on the road, with four of those opponents ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll.
The Tigers, who are picked to finish third in the SWAC, have just one nonconference home game.
On Monday, No. 17 Illinois handed coach Mo Williams’ team a 113-55 loss. The Tigers struggled from the field, hitting just 30.6% of their shots, and on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 61-19. Illinois not only shot 54.8%, but the Illini also grabbed 21 offensive rebounds.
Williams explained one of the reasons for that type of scheduling during SWAC Media Day last month.
“At the end of the day, we have guys that want to be professional athletes,” he said. “We have guys that, in the future, are going to hit the transfer portal. I think there are these moments where they can compete at a high level against high-level competition and not only put themselves in position to be better on their current team, but they put themselves in position to hit the portal and show what they can do against the best of the best.”
Thursday’s game will be a homecoming for Devin Ree, who transferred to the Mississippi school from Louisiana Tech after spending his first season at Louisville. He led the Tigers with 19 points in 19 minutes against the Illini.
Daeshun Ruffin, the SWAC’s preseason player of the year, added 12 points and five rebounds.
