#157 R.P.I. Louisville @ #8o R.P.I.
Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball just won a big -not to mention lopsided- one by an XXXS margin vs. Quad-one Miami @So.Beach. (A win our previously lame-looking Marching Madness cadence surely needed like a dead-man needs a coffin).

The Hokies now return to a recently cooling back off and now ‘posed to week-long warm-back-up (again) New River Valley to host an old Metro Conference foil or foe… the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville now sojourns 383-mile roadie for a curious Tuesday nite start East-by-So-East as the cardinal flies. The Cards currently slot in at .428 or 12 up and 16 down overall. (Good for: .333 or 11th place in A.c.c. at 6-12 in intraleague work). And frankly, there are a lotta hard to gather cardinal coloured parts in O&M play here folks. This is one odd team to get a glean on. Nonetheless, what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much, rights? So, read on to find, outs!

(Interim): Louisville Head Coach: Mike Pegues: age=44, 6–8 (.429) overall and @Louisville alike. Has a rep’ of a recruiter… and the rest is unshown for the moment.
~$340,000.oo

A native of Washington, D.C., Pegues attended Delaware after an impressive career at national power De­Matha Catholic High School.

In scholastic terms… baller Pegues, a 6’5″, bulky thuddy looking 24o lb. power forward from Forestville, Maryland, played at national basketball power DeMatha Catholic High School from 1992 to 1996 and was a teammate of former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook. His head coach was Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Morgan Wootten. During his four-year high school career, he compiled an overall record of 1o5–26, including two #1 rankings in the Washington, D.C. area.

After that… collegiate baller Pegues, during a college career that spanned between 1996 and 2ooo, Pegues became the first player in school history to earn three first-team all-conference selections as well as its first conference player of the year. He scored a still-standing Delaware record of 2,o3o points and guided the Fightin’ Blue Hens to two NCAA Tournaments (1998, 1999) and one National Invitation Tournament (2ooo). Not ½ bad… is it?

He then played professionally in Italy, New Zealand, England, and Argentina, as well as one season in the Continental Basketball Association. After suffering a knee injury (St.Nikon bless), he returned close to home to teach at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C. He served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Bishop O’Connell High School under Joe Wooten, son of legendary high school head coach Morgan Wooten. He also coached the DC Assault AAU squad.

After said knee injury ended Pegues’ playing career after several seasons, and he became a teacher at Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School. He also coached high school and Amateur Athletic Union basketball. In 2oo9–1o, Pegues served as the video coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth before joining the staff at Delaware in 2o1o–11. In 2o12, Pegues was hired as an assistant for coach Chris Mack at Xavier. In 2018, Mack took the head coaching job at Louisville and Pegues followed him there. Pegues served as acting head coach for the first six games of the 2o21–22 season while Mack was suspended; he went 5–1 and won the Bahamas Championship. On January 26, 2o22, Pegues was named the interim head coach after Louisville and Mack mutually parted ways.

Daddy Pegues and his wife Jordan have one son,
Michael Anthony Pegues III born in June 2020.

Cardinals at a glance:

• 52nd in defensive rebounding!
• 292nd best in Swats!
• 297th best in Free-Throwing percentage!
• 3o8th in actual FT-makes! (i.e, they don’t go hard to the rack too often).
• 312th best in 3-pointing percentage!!
• So, 21 of the 32 team-wide National Metrics I track you ask? Graded (at best) C— to nearly F+. This is a ship that is not only listing it is a ship whose pumps cannot keep up!
• 1 injury was listed. (Coach God bless!) (Plus a few dings/dents on the down-low)

Returning Starters=3.

Louisville Strengths:

• This is a pretty good defensive rebounding club. You are likely one-n-done if you miss, here. Same as years past… this is the one marker that has not run outta cardinal flavored ink.
• One, #1o, Mr. Noah Locke, Lead-Guard or Rb1; who is kinda sorta forced into playing the One at times… 6′3″ and 2o5 lb., inner-city baller by way of the B’more, Md., ‘hood. Former Gator of FLA fame. Where he is a Gainesville Top-1o all-time 3-point shooter in just three Sunshine Stating years down there. Feisty, confident even a little cocksure guy on tape. Could intern @Viagra in the off-season for it. As Locke’s 217 career three-point field goals only rank ninth in Florida history. Logs a whopping twelveteen, five that’s (5) or better 3-point makes in a game twelve different times. Or, when he gets it cooking, he’s truly an uptown ***** chef from way downtown, ‘bang’. Can go 3-point nearly haywire at times. Blow-torch typea baller. Has a mind-numbing 6-8 wingspan; @6′3″. However, not much of a defender for it… go fig’ metric-wise on dat? Has been warming of late… tho’ very very very hit-or-miss all year long. Ranked No. 64 by Rivals.com, and not less than 8oth by anyone in America. Artist on the side… and if you walked into his dorm room, the first thing you would notice is his giraffe painting. Never read that one before… St.Luke (for: writing Iconography) bless! In hoopology terms… Locke leads L’ville at a seemingly lowercase: 9.9 ppg. With 2.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, and with a pretty shabby looking 36.7% overall and even less 34.7% from trifectaville. This kid is obviously a better netter than this. 43.7% on 3’s for Florida last season might just be a clue, here. Keeps a daily diary … don’t read that ever either. Has played/started every single game, so Training Room major ills are not it, and yet his overall game be illin’ itself. As this is prolly a fringe overseas Talent. The only question is where will he Talent next year?
• 6′7″ and 2o5 lb., Sophomoric Samuell Williamson is an S/F (though Five or “C” listed by ESPN) by way of everything’s bigger Texas. Including his scholastic box scores with routinely read high 20-somethings for ppg and lowercase teens for rpg. As this is a highly athletic-looking Swingman who can get to the glass and put the biscuit in the basket even if a pure shooter he just ain’t; or at least not just yet. Still, most publications (easily) had Sam I am penciled in as the Cardinals 🂡 or Ace of Spades last year recruiting-wise. So, let’s ask 2024 -if he is still in Louisville that is- how all of this tastes. As everyone says there is plenty of potential and a pretty dang cathedral ceiling in play for this Cardinal. What with Mister Williamson only being ranked 15th nationally by 247Sports.com two seasons past. Although he still does want for behind-the-arc efficacy, what with a choppy looking 28.1% from downtown. This is (↓) or down by nearly 6% from downtown since last season mind yah. However, it would seem that mytharc of his game does exist… what with having won the 3-point competition at the 2019 American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point championship nationwide just two springs back. This all from the very same kid who Lindy’s says has: “…3-level-scoring, rebounding-chops, and a Pt.Guard’s passing vision.” We shall see on that, tho’ this is indeed a ***** (five-star) Constellation Class recruit, so expectations are high for Sam’ (Williams) I am here. Does have a history of toe woes as Samuell Williamson dislocated the big toe on his right foot against Seton Hall, leaving the Cards even more short-handed. (UPDATE: this year he is nearly cut in half and all the way down to… 5.7 ppg with 3.9 rpg, and 0.8 apg. And the 57% FTA’s and the truly lowly 15.4% on his three’s are way way beneath his standards/talents overall). Curiously enough, he has cut weight since last year, looks leaner less strong for it at about a 10-lb. plate in the hole.
• Also, out off and on his whole career for a spell(s) is/was BIG-man: Malik Williams. Who Coach God Bless, has had a series of dings, dents, and hurts dotting/capping his college numbers. (Right-knee; with a screw already inserted in his busted foot). Double-Sr. or twice 5th-year and team vocal leader/Captain, Malik goes 6′11″, 25o lbs. as a legit “Four” or P/F down low. He has the voltage and physique and is not a Euro-stretch-4 by any measure. Dinged as well are his 9.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg (2nd broken right-foot, St.Servatius double help!) on a reasonable 47.1% shooting with .9 bpg. This from the careerist limited so far: Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. Who was only ranked No. 21 nationally by Scout.com. (this kid is most legit; even if his insalubrious medical jack (sadly) is not). (UPDATE: as of midweek…  senior Malik Williams could be sidelined at least 3 months with a right-foot fracture and subsequent surgery… geeeeez. St.Sebastian bless!!!) (UPDATE2: I guess St.Sebastian did! As Malik came back 3-games ago… and has not been bad 6 ppg and 7 rpg in right at 20-minutes of work; good for him!) (UPDATE3: well, typed too fast fo’ my own credibility… good… as: Malik Williams {sic: now} will miss four to six weeks after re-injuring his right foot Saturday against Duke. Yikes & St.Servatius give St.Sebastian an assist this time, please!) As this one will not require surgery, tho’ the 1st-one did and it expensed po’ Malik 15-games already. Dang…
  ^^^all of that^^^ is from my historic notes on poor Malik… who has had a Bill Walton ‘hoooorible’ ‘esque time downstairs keeping his feet/knees in service, much less in good-working-order. This kid is a Mister Scott baller… “giving you all she’s got!” Poor guy… Coach God Bless. And guess what(s)? Williams has already missed nearly ≅15% of this year with… wait for it… even mo’ foot/leg ding(s), plural. Geez… although Williams is the first three-time captain in UofL history. Kid gots heart(s); don’t he? He also has his degree (u.grad’); working on his seconds… sure hope he gets a good life for all this hardwood suffering/giving of himself. Godspeed.

  

• El Ellis got himself included in this section only because he leads Louisville in 3-point shooting. And he only leads Louisville at: 35%, in 2o22 terms! Tallahassee Community College transfer baller who checks in at: 6′3″, 175 lbs. Junior, who gets you an okay-looking: 8.8 ppg on 1.9 rpg and 1.5 apg. As said, ‘okay’ and he is the alpha deep shooter here. Was named first-team 2o21 All-America by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), becoming Tallahassee’s first two-time All-American. Was also ranked as the top junior college prospect in the nation in the 247Sports.com composite rankings! So, there is some Talent(s) here, somewheres? ~15 ppg on 41% deep @T.C.C. says so. As does his Human Genome of: his poppa-bear (Elbert Ellis, Jr.) was merely a football and track athlete at the University of Pittsburgh before playing with the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers. El Ellis is also said to be a fair-to-middling diamond or seam-head in baseball who could prolly ‘walk’ on at the next level in that sport had he chosen so. Says: He is: “Most proud of himself.” And his favorite thing is seeing the same on television. This is from 247Sports’ #1 rated JuCo recruit last season. (Does keeps orange-frosting in his twist-top ‘fro, so there is that, too).
• …you see what Eye Louisville means, already; rights?

Louisville Weaknesses:

• Did Eye mention the Louisville roster departing flights, yet? So, I added it up fo’ yah; across seven that’s (7) -or close to 50% of most D-1 men’s rosters worth of kids- the Cardinals just watched ~60 ppg, ~22 rpg, and ~12 apg Exit Stage Left. That’s, all…
• Additionally, most of my preview mags decry that Louisville is unusually frontcourt thin. For actually being Louisville I mean.
• Mike James, (OUT). James is expected to miss the entire 2o21-22 season after tearing his left Achilles tendon. Yikes! St.Achilles bless and intercede. Also out would be James’… 6′6″, 215 lb., as a 1st-year, S/F. NO STATS yet this season… per: a pre-season hurt.
• …what Eye Louisville means is… (see: below)…

 

Cardinal Nest: (depth=7’ish deep! 12 guys team-wide gets 19 to 25 mpg of P.T.)

Relationsionally typing… Sydney Curry (a: 6′8″ and 25o lb.,) John A. Logan College transfer baller got included here JI surname C. Negative on any relation(s) that Google or Eye could spy here. This Curry is a bulky guy who can flat-out, rise! Real springs in his twigs to be so burly or thickset and that is inclusionary fun enuff. Last year s.Curry was honored as the 2o2o-21 Great Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year when he averaged 12.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and shot a keeper or a smoking 69.4 percent from the field to lead John A. Logan College to an 18-5 record and to a Conference Title. That’s not a bad bling to finger the rest of your game-of, life. Where Syd’ was something of a JuCo or lowercase double-double machine last season. In the off-season, he was only ranked as the No. 8 junior college prospect in the nation by 247Sports. Hoosier State’s 019 ABC21 Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He led the state of Indiana in offensive rebounds as a senior. Had good digits on everything else, tho’ not quite great. Said to be the best cook on the team although he has simmered down to: 5.8 ppg with 3.6 rpg, and 0.5 apg; all married to o.o Blutarski shooting from behind the arc. Again, Talented kid who is not even ceiling; never minds roofing itself. (UPDATE: …sizzling hot hot hot Buster Poindexter baller of late!) Maybe he is marketing/advertising for his next coach, now?

6′8″ and 23o lb., r-freshmenic or debut year Jae’Lyn Withers is a leaner looking than he is listed P/F by way of the Queen City of Charlotte, Nc. He is also said to be a high-riser who can and will dunk all over you off the dribble. The fact that Joe’Lyn won the team slam dunk competition at the preseason “Louisville Live,” a preseason outdoor event at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville might just speak to this. His pops (Curtis) was only all-conference U.S.A. in hoops down at Charlotte his ownself. Ditto his 1st-cousin: (Jaire Alexander) who played football for three seasons at Louisville (2015-17) and is currently a Cb for the Green Bay Packers, where he was a first-round draft pick in 2018. So, the N.b.a. D.n.a. could be at least a recessive gene here. Maybe mo’… as the relative athletics are in place. As 10.2 ppg and the team-lead at 8 rpg in relief are none too shabby on just 25 mpg. Or, at least they were not last year. This year Withers has withered to: 6.0 ppg on 4.7 rpg. And his 57% from the floor has gone a negative Sweet-16 all the way down to 41% this campaign. Said to be a finisher who keys the paint. Interesting 100th ranked national prospect by Rivals who could blossom if his shooting (23.8%) deepens a bit more in time. Again, mo’ should be happening, here. He has too much Talent for dis.

r-shirt-Soph., Gabe Wiznitzer C = 6′11″ on 24o lbs. down low off the pine in the paint for L’ville. Gabe gets gabby when he enters and gives you: Not much of anything other than sizey match-up difficulties. Or, don’t let the collective near nil production scare you, tho’ the size match-up foible is a pretty big deal. Hargrave Military Academy, Virginia homeboy which got him inserted in here as well. Ranked No. 115 in the nation by Rivals.com on 15 ppg and 11 rpg for Hargrave.

Jarrod West got his wheat-bread no-relationship 3o4-self included just Dub.Vee “Wild and Wonderful”… ’cause. Jarrod is a Clarksburg, W.Va. native transfer baller by way of Marshall. Defensive baller via trade, as his graduate transfer from Marshall University vitals of having departed as the career, steals leader with over 1,2oo career points in his four seasons there suggest. This now Pt.Guard2, averaged a Conference USA-leading 6.0 assists (12th in the nation) for the Herd. And 2.5 steals (11th in the nation) to go with nearly 13 ppg at Marshall. At Louisville, Jarrod is substituting you for: 5.8 ppg on 2.6 rpg and yet the team leads in 3.0 apg and 1.3 spg alike. Takes a 3o4 boy to not be a beyotch in a season such as this. Was also selected to the 2o21 All-Conference USA second team and C-USA All-Defensive Team, his 2.86 assists/turnover ratio also led C-USA. He had three or more steals in nine games last season. Hard to (now) be sure, as 2o22 may have talked scouts outta this… tho’ that much pure D with great handles and a former shiny enough 40.8% marshaled when dialing long-distance might still have j.West dialing home from some other country next year. As he was merely the 2o17 Bill Evans Award, presented annually by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association to the state’s top boys prep basketball player. He was the first Class A player to earn the award in 33 years. With one single-A 3o4 title ring. Godspeed, hope so on the next level for manifest destiny or for Mister West.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Cardinals who could soar @Tech=6 maybe 7.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… that I thought we’d get took @Lousiville last time out… last year…

…and yet I opened the ‘rong WordPress (banked) preview from last year and frankly I now know how all of you always feel reading my work(s).

Confused… 1o1.

That attempt at self-deprecation aside…

…it is pretty dang hard to be taken with Louisville this year -or at least at this moment- anywho.

---

“Aye” there is still some pretty shiny, VHT, constellation-class typea recruiting Talent(s) still on board. At least for the moment… the catch-44 for them being… this post-season could very well be springtime gone springboard for them indeed. . In… spades (♠).

As it don’t seem very long until some of these Cardinals reshuffles their mailing-addy and springs fo’ some other joint somewhere else.

Though there Eye goes again… always putting the cart out in front of the, horse.

As this would be a very unsettling place for the Senior Nite Hokiebird guys to get beat @home in a Ag.School game of… “P”, “I”, “G”.

And right now, methinks this one is another, toss-up contest.
Until it begins… at least in theory…

Famous last words and Owens Dining Hall grain
of 🧂 insert (____) here.
✅

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a mere 25-point VicTory Dance in this one here. The caveat being… it was sepertining literally all over the place. So, I went back (again) and only looked at the most recent in-common head-to-heads. As the early Louisville Forum Guide returns could correlate to a calendar timeframe when they had mo’ spark or mo’ juice (remaining) overall. When I did this, it only called for a 5-point Tech Triumph. So, if you think L’ville is playing a game of 3-card-Chauncy and on the jake? Side with the 25. If you think they can 3-finger-slide at least one mo’ game from the bottom of the deck side with the 5.

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… V.Tech is up a decent enough +7% in shooting percentage margin (per all less 1% superior shooting overall on O, you are keeping score @home); V.Tech is up a useful looking +1o% in 3-point percentage margin (VeeTee way better on O and a little better on 3-D), and yet it was L’ville who is up a rather nominal looking +1 carrom in rebounding margin of Windex Wipes year-to-date. (With both teams enjoying positive margins off the Glass, it was just that the L’ville dibble-glass was just a little mo’ 1/2-full). Caveat:

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… the Gobblers are now up +3% in shooting percentage margin (oddly tho’, the Cards are up +2% on O as VeeTee has quietly cooled a bit on O; tho’ they have tightened their o&m belt a bit on D); with the Hokies now up a decent looking +6% in 3-point percentage margin (most of it from the Cards recent chilly deep-shooting streak, a mere 21% recently as they cannot make a: “3” with a pencil), and then these two went The Black Knight and called it a rebound-dating, drawl. As the Cardinals and the F’n Gobblers are both up +1 miss collected in fiberglassing in the last fortnight of play.

ARMCHAIR POINT-GUARDs:

STREAKS ARE MEANT TO BE…
The Hokies have cut 17 straight games to the Cardinals, yet this matchup finds the teams on vastly different trajectories. While Virginia Tech has won eight of its last nine games, Louisville has dropped nine of its last 1o. “Two ships passing in the nite…”

NOT VERY SHIP… SHAPE?
Louisville has been competitive in many of its recent L’s, although that was not the case Saturday. The Cardinals trailed by as many as 32 points on their way to a 99-77 sinking at Wake Forest.

As the Cardinals put up little resistance on the defensive end. They surrendered a season-high in points as the Deacons shot 58.2 percent from the floor and made 13 of 27 attempts from 3-point range. snap!

QUADRATIC EQUATIONS and Dr. CRITTENDEN:
With much more emphasis on the NCAA’s quadrant system this campaign. In Quad 1 games, which the system deems the most critical you ask? Tech has a 1-5 record.

WHAT GOES UP, MUST COME…
Louisville on the other hand; appears destined for the program’s first negative rec’ since 2ooo-2oo1. wow!

VeeTee is up a useful-looking +4 in R&R in the last two weeks.
V.Tech is a .583 guest; whereas L.ville is .533 as a host.
V.P.I. is up +7% at the charity stripe for the year.

The Call...

No.125 Net Ranking Louisville @ No.41 Net Ranking Virginia Tech:

With an elusive Quadrant 1 victory finally in hand, surging Virginia Tech has a good chance this week to bolster its NC2A Tournament rèsumè.

The Hokies will reach the 2o-win mark if they emerge victorious in their final two games, both against Atlantic Coast Conference teams with losing records. The first comes Tuesday night when Virginia Tech (18-11, 1o-8 A.c.c.) hosts reeling Louisville (12-16, 6-12) in Blacksburg, Va. Tuesday nite.

That said, make no misQ here… a Tuesday L would be upsetting raised to the destructive power to be sure. As in, v-e-r-y. Seriously at that.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Prior to the actually got played by Florida State way back on 8th January 2o22 A.D., the Cards had been dealin’ from a seemingly loaded deck.

Per a nifty enough looking Smokey and The Bandit savvy big: “1o-4” to start the season.

Including a couple of solid surname-looking, Big-10 and S.E.C. wins alike, and an always useful perfected 4-nil start to begin All Championship Conference calling play! That does not suck…

…what does suck however is their ShopVac or Electroluxing ever since.

As Louisville has gone a downright despondent looking 2-12 game of 52-card-pick-up; gone fail, ever since!

Having been beaten by at least 3-shots in all twelve contests and having been dumped by double-digits in 9 of their last 12 downvotes.

Louisville is better than that, right?

Or at least so Eye had thought…

–oOo–

What Eye Louisville means is… when looking and/or writing all of these up you ask?

I could not make up my mind if this was a collection of individuals, a buncha singles who are already Tindering their next collegiate offer(s), or each or both or all of the above? As nobody seems really Louisville-centric or Louisville-focused here— at least not to me upon breaking tape.

Playing-out-the-string, strung-out, strung-along… or something like that’s…
…as some of these more talented than they are showing guys already seem gone, to me.

Like nobody wants any cardinal flavored Bluegrass Bourbon to distill much efforting at all, here.

That said, there IS Talent here… and hoops is a streaky game,

Cue Coach Ray Stevens… so, maybe Louisville is due to have some individual fun and pop-clean in singles terms on O?

XX‘s & OO‘s

“Stranger Things” have happened, just ask Netflix.

In the meantime, this is YOUtube gone boob-tude for much-vaunted Louisville.
Pretty much a shame if you ask me -and you did via reading these very, words.

That, and it would be a twice shame on us if we let them once us and steal this one here.

🏀
🏀

(75% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=78, Louisville=59

please support the VT F.C.A.!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**