Opponent Preview: What to know about SU’s first ACC road opponent Louisville

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Syracuse continued its unbeaten start in the JMA Wireless Dome with a 23-point trouncing over UAlbany.

In the 87-64 victory, the Orange struggled early on, unable to maintain their lead in the first half. After the opening quarter saw SU trailing by two, the Great Danes shot a blistering 53.85% from the field in the second, to enter halftime with a slender 34-32 lead.

In the second half, propelled by a 26-point outing from Dyaisha Fair along with three other double-digit scorers, Syracuse pulled away. Then, a 18-6 scoring run in the fourth put the contest out of reach.

In the Orange’s first Atlantic Coast Conference matchup against Wake Forest, a strong inside presence and dominance on the offensive boards willed SU to its first conference win.

Hoping to improve to 2-0 in the ACC and obtain its sixth consecutive win, Syracuse travels to Louisville for its first away contest in conference play.

Here’s everything you need to know about Louisville (10-4, 1-0 ACC):

All-time series:

Louisville leads 16-6.

Last time they played:

In February of last season, the then-No. 4 Cardinals beat Syracuse in the Dome, 100-64 to hand the Orange their 12th loss of the campaign.

In an offensive-oriented contest, Louisville handled SU from the jump. After a quarter of play, the Cardinal lead stood at double digits. Building off of a strong start, the Cardinals’ commanding fourth quarter cemented its 11th conference win.

The Cardinals were led by Liz Dixon who poured in a game-high 18 points off the bench — part of a 31-point differential in bench scoring between the two. Along with Dixon, five other players finished with double digits, including former Syracuse guard Emily Englster, who produced a stuffed statline containing 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks.

For Syracuse, Najé Murray totaled a team-high 16 points. Chrislyn Carr and Teisha Hyman each chipped in with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Despite opening the second quarter on a 5-0 run, SU’s reliance on the 3-point shot prevented easy inside buckets.

After the loss, the Orange would win their next two conference games against Virginia and Pittsburgh before ending the regular season on a five-game losing skid.

The Cardinals report:

Louisville plays with discipline, speed, and can also score both inside and out. Its success starts with the multi-talented backcourt duo of Hailey Van Lith and Carr — who transferred from Syracuse for her graduate season. The two are prolific shooters from behind the arc, but more importantly, they make the correct basketball play.

In the frontcourt, Morgan Jones, Olivia Cochran and Dixon bring an intimidating inside presence. All three are listed at 6’2’’ or above with Jones averaging slightly over 10 points per game.

One of the more efficient offensive teams, Louisville shoots a red-hot 46.7% from the field, ranking 23rd of 361 nationally per HerHoopStats. The Cardinals also rank 30th in free-throw percentage per HerHoopStats. Thanks to the dominant trio of Jones, Chochrann and Dixon, 60.9% of Louisville’s average scoring total comes within the 3-point arc.

Defensively, with so much size and depth, Louisville ranks 45th in blocks per game, totaling 4.4. It also produced 9.2 steals per game. Last time out, in its opening ACC victory over Pittsburgh, the Cardinals walked away with a 24-point blowout win largely thanks to the 21 points off of Panther turnovers.

This time around, the Cardinals will have to learn to survive without Engstler. The SU transfer was the fourth overall pick in this year’s WNBA draft and averaged 11.9 points per game last season.

How Syracuse beats Louisville:

Strong and reliable guard play, limited turnovers and not forcing anything inside will be key for Syracuse to emerge victorious.

Starting with SU’s best player, Fair will have to continue to build upon a plethora of 20-point performances she’s already produced this season. Her tight handle and elite vision will find holes in Louisville’s man-to-man set up and help the Orange get into their offense.

Against Syracuse’s nonconference opponents, Felisha Legette-Jack’s squad often looked inside to feed a mismatch. So far this season, Dariauna Lewis has looked nearly unstoppable against teams like Stony Brook and Binghamton, while Asia Strong has provided versatility as a perimeter shooter and a post-up player.

Facing the Cardinals, Syracuse will have to know when to feed Lewis and Strong but also know when there will be a size disadvantage down low against Cochrann and Dixon.

Stat to know: 18.7, 116

Louisville fouls. A lot. Averaging 18.7 fouls a game, the Cardinals rank 269th of 361 when it comes to committing the most fouls. This translates into opportunities at the charity stripe which explains the number ‘116.’ So far this season, Louisville has sent its opponents to the free-throw line 116 times — good enough for 331st nationally.

In Syracuse’s matchup against Yale, the Orange attempted 30 free throws — 26 more than the Bulldogs had all game. With a 70.4% from the line, if Syracuse can play its cards right against a hack-happy Louisville team, free throws could help SU back into what will be a tight contest.

Player to watch: Hailey Van Lith, Guard, No. 10:

While eyes will be glued to Carr in her return to the Dome after transferring away from Syracuse, Van Lith has brought the ‘wow factor’ wherever Louisville has played this season.

Averaging 19.8 points per game — a top-30 scorer in the nation — Van Lith can shoot it from deep and pull up for a smooth midrange jumper. Although the junior guard might not be the most efficient player at times, expect Louisville to run the offense around her and give her complete freedom as both a scorer and a facilitator.