Preparing a game plan against Louisville must be an absolute nightmare. Actually, the opponent had better have three or four game plans, because Louisville has perhaps the deepest roster in the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville can beat teams so many ways. If coach Rick Pitino wants to go big, 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman Samardo Samuels can post up with junior Earl Clark (6-9, 220) and overpower most frontcourts. When the Cardinals want to can go small, Clark can be joined by guards Jerry Smith, Edgar Sosa, Preston Knowles and Andre McGee (brother of former Colorado guard Antoine McGee).
Then there’s 6-6 senior Terrence Williams, who is one of the nation’s most versatile players. Athletic enough to run with an opponent’s backcourt and jump with centers, Williams can guard just about anybody on the court and not look out of place. And oh, yes, Clark has been known for his rebounding and shot blocking but just happens to also lead the balanced Louisville attack in scoring with an average of 14 points.
In a Big East game, nine Louisville players logged at least 15 minutes. Good luck game- planning against that.
Favorite: Louisville
The Cardinals are the top overall seed in the tournament, and they’re loaded. But they do have an Achilles’ heel: Louisville is hitting just 64.3 percent of its free throws. While that’s not in Memphis’ territory of last year (59.6 percent going into the tournament, although the Tigers were able to overcome that), it could be troublesome late in a close game. Of their five losses, two were by six points or fewer.
Sleeper: Arizona
In their first season in decades without Lute Olson, the Wildcats went 9-9 in the Pac-10 and had to outbubble several other teams to sneak in. But that doesn’t mean Arizona is devoid of talent. Stars tend to take over in the NCAA Tournament, and the Wildcats have three in center Jordan Hill (18.5 points, 11.0 rebounds), forward Chase Budinger (17.9, 6.3) and point guard Nic Wise (15.1, 4.6 assists).
Upset alert: Siena over Ohio State
Although Ohio State has three potential future No. 1 NBA draft picks in center B.J. Mullens and guards Evan Turner and William Buford, the Buckeyes are young and inconsistent, especially during the Big Ten regular season (10-8). Siena, on the other hand, relies on seniors and juniors. The Saints get outstanding guard play, which often is a key in NCAA Tournament play.
Bracket breakdown
Wake Forest may be the only team that can match up athletically with Louisville. But Indianapolis is just up the road from Louisville, which considers itself a “Southern school” but is across the Ohio River from the state of Indiana. A potential regional semi between Kansas and Michigan State could be interesting. The Spartans whipped KU 75-62 in East Lansing in early January, but the Jayhawks are growing up.
The Post’s pick: Louisville. As befitting of the overall No. 1 seed, the Cardinals appear to have the easiest road to the Final Four.
