Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Cardinals face their second top-25 team in as many days when they take on the Red Raiders in the Maui Invitational.

Louisville Cardinals (0-4, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 21 Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 0-0 Big 12)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Texas Tech -10.0 (KenPom)
- All-Time Series: Texas Tech leads 1-0
- Last Meeting: Texas Tech won 70-57 on Dec. 10, 2019 (Jimmy V Classic - Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G El Ellis (6-3, 180, Sr.)
• G/F Mike James (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)
• F Jae'Lyn Withers (6-9, 220, R-Jr.)
• F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-10, 250, So.)
• F Sydney Curry (6-8, 270, Sr.)

Texas Tech

• G Pop Isaacs (6-2, 170, Fr.)
• G De'Vion Harmon (6-2, 205, Sr.)
• G Jaylon Tyson (6-7, 210, So.)
• F Kevin Obanor (6-8, 235, Gr.)
• F Daniel Batcho (6-11, 235, R-So.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Red Raiders, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Texas Tech

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville has participated in the Maui Invitational three times before in 1989, 2000 and 2004. The Cardinals are 5-5 alltime in the event and 21-12 overall in the state of Hawaii.
• This is the first time Louisville has played back-to-back AP Top 25 opponents since the 2019-20 season, when it faced No. 19 Kentucky on Dec. 28 and No. 18 Florida State on Jan. 4. UofL has won 45 of its last 102 games against AP ranked opponents. The Cardinals are 62-70 against Top 25 teams over the last 12 years.
• The Cardinals scored more points off the bench against Arkansas (29) than they did in their first three games combined (25). That was due in large part to a team-high 13 points from freshman forward Kamari Lands.
• Louisville was the first team since at least 1980 to lose its first three games of the season by one point each, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Including last year’s 51-50 loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament, the Cardinals were the first team to lose four straight games overall by one point since Stetson in 1981-82.
• Per Ken Pomeroy, Louisville is 338th in the country in Division I experience with an average of 0.91 years.
• The Cardinals have had much more success getting to the free-throw line in the last two games. After making 18 of just 22 opportunities in their first two games, they’ve gone 35 of 48 from the charity stripe in the last two outings.
• Last game: Louisville fell 80-54 to No. 9 Arkansas in their Maui Invitational opener. First year head coach Kenny Payne falls to 0-4 in his career.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: The Razorbacks went on a 12-1 run starting at 8:23, lifting them to a 13-point lead, their largest of the first half. The run was fueled by back-to-back three-pointers from Anthony Black, who scored 12 first-half points. Louisville started the game with seven straight misses from the field, with their first points coming from JJ Traynor at the 14:41 mark.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: After the Cardinals cut the deficit to five, Arkansas went on a 26-4 run starting at 14:00, scoring 17 unanswered points on their way to a 27-point lead, their largest of the night. o Louisville was outscored 33-16 while committing 15 turnovers in the second half.
• UofL shot 16 of 44 (36.4%) from the field, 4 of 12 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 18 of 25 (72.0%) from the free-throw line against Arkansas.
• After going scoreless in the first three games, Kamari Lands poured in a team-high 13 points, with seven coming in the first half. He played 21 minutes while also pulling down two rebounds. o The forward buried the first field goal of his collegiate career with a jumper at the 3:45 mark in the first half. He had missed his first twelve attempts from the floor this season. o Lands shot 3 for 5 from the floor and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the foul line.
• El Ellis tallied 11 points, adding three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes. o The point guard has now scored in double figures in each of Louisville’s first four games this season.
• J.J. Traynor scored a season-high nine points on 4 for 5 shooting from the field in 18 minutes of action. o A personal 5-0 burst from Traynor cut the deficit to five with 14:26 remaining. o The forward also scored the first four Louisville points of the game after the Cardinals missed their first seven field goal attempts.
• Jae'Lyn Withers notched seven points, converting on 5 of 6 attempts at the free-throw line. o He also added 5 rebounds while playing 25 minutes. o The forward also chipped in with one steal, marking the third time in four games he has recorded at least one steal.

Texas Tech

• The Red Raiders dropped a 76-65 quarterfinal game against No. 10 Creighton on Monday at the tournament after they had swept through a three-game homestand with wins over Northwestern State, Texas Southern and Louisiana Tech to begin their season. 
• Daniel Batcho went off for a career-high 17 points in the loss against Creighton where he was 7-for-12 from the field and added five rebounds. The game was tied 31-all at halftime before the No. 10 Bluejays pulled away in the second half. Pop Isaacs also had a career-high with 13 points after going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, while De'Vion Harmon scored 12 and Kevin Obanor added 10 to give the Red Raiders four double-figure scorers for the first time this season... Tech forced 13 first-half turnovers but did not force one in the second half against the Bluejays who outscored the Red Raiders 45-34 in the final 20 minutes.
• Mark Adams is in his second season leading the Texas Tech program where he is now 30-11 overall and 21-0 at home… A 1979 Tech graduate, Adams led the Red Raiders to a 27-10 overall record, 12-6 conference mark, to the Big 12 Championship final and the NCAA Sweet 16 in his first season as the head coach. He was named the Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year… His 27 wins last season were the most by a first-year Tech head coach
• Tech is coming off a season where it did not lose back-to-back games all year.
• Tech returned only one starter (Obanor) and three lettermen (Batcho, KJ Allen and Obanor) from last year's team while welcoming in five transfers and five true freshmen.
• The Red Raider starters for the first four games this season have been Obanor, Batcho, Isaacs, Harmon and Jaylon Tyson.
• Tech is hitting 36.2 percent of its shots this season, opponents are being limited to 38.0 percent… The Red Raiders shot 43.5 percent against Creighton which hit 55.1 percent of its shots.
• Kerwin Walton has played all three games as a reserve but is averaging the fourth most minutes per game at 20.4… Harmon is at 28.8 minutes per game for the most on the team through four games.
• The Red Raiders finished No. 1 in defensive efficiency for the second time in four seasons last year… After four games, the Red Raiders are 11th in the category on Kenpom… Tech also topped the Kenpom.com category in 2019 and were No. 9 in 2020.
• GAME ONE (1-0): Batcho led Tech with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the season-opening win over Northwestern State on Nov. 7. Obanor and Walton had nine points each in the win, while Tyson had eight points and five rebounds
• GAME TWO (2-0): Obanor led Tech with 13 points and seven rebounds in the 78-54 win over Texas Southern on Thursday, Nov. 10. He was joined in double figures by Tyson who had a career-high 13 points and Harmon who had 12 points and a team-high three assists
• GAME THREE (3-0): Harmon and Obanor each finished with 15 points as Tech earned a 64-55 win over Louisiana Tech last Monday. Harmon matched career-highs with six assists and four steals in the game while Batcho had a career-high six blocked shots

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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