No. 9 seed (West) Wichita State (30-8) vs. No.1 (Midwest) Louisville (33-5), 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS
Records vs. NCAA tournament field: Wichita State 6-2, Louisville 15-5.
Records vs. common opponents: Wichita State beat DePaul (75-62) and Pittsburgh (73-55); Louisville beat DePaul (79-58) and Pittsburgh (64-61).
Best individual matchups: Malcolm Armstead (6-0, Sr., WSU) vs. Peyton Siva (6-0, Sr., Louisville); Carl Hall (6-8, Sr., WSU) vs. Gorgui Dieng (6-11, Jr., Louisville).
Team strengths: Wichita State – 1. The Spartans’ half-court defense is as good any played by any team in this season’s tourney field of 68; 2. The Shockers aren’t exactly “deliberate”, offensively, but they don’t throw up ill-advised or “hunted” shots; 3. Despite lacking impressive (vertical) size, the Shockers are a strong rebounding group; Louisville – 1. The Cardinals exert extreme defensive pressure on opponents, in full- or half-court; 2. Gorgui Dieng is the best shot blocker in the Final Four field; 3. Guards Peyton Siva and Russ Smith are constantly in attack mode, although Siva is less inclined to force shots than is Smith.
Keys to the Game: 1. Can the Shockers keep their turnovers to a minimum and not get “speed up” by Louisville’s defensive pressure? 2. Can the Cardinals get a lot of transition and other open-court scoring opportunities against one of the best defensive transition clubs in the country? 3. Will the backcourt depth hit Louisville took via the broken tibia of Kevin Ware against Duke severely stunt the fluidity and effectiveness of the rotation Rick Pitino has relied upon?
Frank Says: The Cardinals’ relentless defensive pressure and “put you on your heels” transition offense have punished 14 consecutive opponents, dating to the team’s last loss (the 5OT affair in South Bend, IN, nearly two months ago (Feb. 9). But the Shockers’ backcourt is capable of holding up pretty well against that pressure. A significant factor that the Shockers might not be able to overcome, though, is the superior size of Louisville’s frontcourt. The presence of Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan will likely negate any kind of interior offense the Shockers normally generate.
The winner will be: Louisville, 70-64
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