NCAA Tournament Predictions: West Region 4. Louisville vs. 13. Davidson

By: Kels Dayton

 4 Louisville (26-9, 10-8)- The Cardinals finished the season off right, winning four games in four days and capturing the Big East championship at Madison Square Garden. Junior point guard

Peyton Siva makes the Cardinals go, and he is the catalyst for whatever Louisville is able to accomplish offensively. He’s quick, shifty, and a terrific playmaker even in the lane, where he can create for leading scorers Kyle Kuric (13.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Russ Smith (11.4 ppg).

Rick Pitino’s Cardinals are always tough in the tournament because they’re very difficult to prepare for. Very few teams can simulate Louisville’s full-court press in practice, and if they’re running it right, the Cards can go on a roll like they did at the Garden last week.

Still, this is a tough region and Louisville lost in the first round the past two seasons, including last year to Morehead State.

 KEY STATS:

27th Rebounds per game (38.2)

225th Field Goal Percentage (.425)

155th Points per game (68.8)

Team stats courtesy of www.espn.com.

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 13 Davidson (25-7, 16-2 Southern Conference)- There’s no Stephen Curry this time around, but that doesn’t mean that Davidson isn’t capable of knocking off Goliath once again. The 13th-seeded Wildcats defeated Kansas in Kansas City earlier this season and

De’Mon Brooks leads this team in scoring, averaging 16.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior forward Jake Cohen is another capable scorer for the Wildcats, who dominated the Southern conference by averaging 78.4 points per game.

There’s plenty of ammo for an upset here. Davidson can score with anyone in the country, and Louisville has struggled in the NCAA Tournament in recent years. The Wildcats probably aren’t good enough to make a Sweet 16 run, but winning the first round game is definitely a possiblity.

KEY STATS:

12th Points per game (78.4)

19th Rebounds per game (38.9)

110th Field Goal Percentage (.449)

 

PREDICTION: Louisville 

Team stats courtesy of www.bbstate.com.