Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Western Kentucky

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's men's basketball's matchup with Western Kentucky:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After getting back on track against Southeastern Louisiana, the Louisville men's basketball program is heading down south to Bowling Green for a matchup against Western Kentucky.

Here are a few of the more significant storylines to follow ahead of the Cardinals' matchup against the Blue Demons:

Trending Upwards

Western Kentucky is heading into their matchup with Louisville on relatively stable footing, but their start to this season was anything but. Following a season-opening win vs. Alabama State, the Hilltoppers then lost to Minnesota and South Carolina in the Asheville Championship, then at Memphis to lose three in a row.

At that point, head coach Rick Stansbury made some adjustments to the starting lineup, inserting guard Camron Justice and center Jamarion Sharp. Ever since, Western Kentucky has looked much more efficient.

Since starting 1-3, the Hilltoppers have won six of their last seven games, sporting an overall record of 7-4 heading into their game with Louisville. Following that stretch, they're shooting the ball at 48.1 percent from the field, which leads Conference-USA

Of course, two of those wins came against non-D1 competition and two more came against teams outside the KenPom Top 300. However, WKU also has their best win of the year during that stretch, blasting Ole Mis 71-48 on the road.

The Man in The Middle

Speaking of Sharp, since coming over from John A. Logan College, the JUCO transfer has transformed WKU's play down in the paint. Listed at a towering 7-foot-5, he is the tallest player currently in Division I basketball.

Since being inserted into the starting lineup, the Hopkinsville, Ky. native is averaging 9.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and an astounding 6.3 blocks per game. In his first start against Alabama A&M, he had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks for WKU's first triple double since 2018.

If there's any weakness with his game, it's that his blocks don't necessarily lead to offensive rebounds, as he is averaging just 1.4 per game since being inserted as a starter. In fact, it's a weakness for WKU as a whole, as they're 26th in D1 in defensive rebounds per game but 240th in offensive boards.

Still, when you're the nation leader in blocked shots at 4.91 for the season, that's absolutely something to take note of.

McKnight in Shining Armor

Sharp might get a lot of the headlines for the Hilltoppers due to him being a massive human being, but it's actually point guard Dayvion McKnight that is their primary catalyst.

He's second on the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game - second only to Jairus McKnight's 16.8 - but he also dishes out 6.2 assists per game, a mark which ranks 11th in all of Division 1. He's also extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor, making 45 trips to the free throw line this season while averaging 2.27 steals per game - which is 24th in D1.

McKnight also has a triple double on the year as well, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in their most recent game against Centre. WKU is the first team to have two different players record a triple double in the same year.

Potential Turnover Fest

The key to Saturday's game between Louisville and Western Kentucky, quite honestly, could come down to who can keep their turnovers in check.

The Hilltoppers are aggressive on both ends of the floor, for better and for worse. While they average 9.5 steals and forced 17.09 turnovers per game - both of which are top 40 marks - they cough it up nearly as much. Their 14.3 lost turnovers per game comes in as 240th out of 350 D1 teams.

As for Louisville, while they have a stifling defense, their offense is still trying to find its stride. In fact, they actually average more turnovers (14.7) than they force themselves (13.7).

Saturday has real potential to be a sloppy basketball game. Whoever contributes less to the overall sloppiness is who will likely emerge victorious.

Players to Watch for Louisville vs. WKU

PG Dayvion McKnight

© Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists per game

C Jamarion Sharp

Star Tribune

7.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.9 blocks per game

C Malik Williams

Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

10.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals per game

PG Jarrod West

Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

6.6 points, 3.8 assists, 1.7 steals per game

(Photo of Jarrod West: Cindy Rice Shelton - Louisville Report)

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