All this week we will be breaking down the match-ups at each position for the Louisville vs Kentucky basketball game for this Saturday December 28. Today we continue with the shooting guard position.
Louisville
Russ Smith
Season Avg:
Points: 16.8
Assists: 5.0
Rebounds: 3.2
Steals: 1.7
Turnovers: 2.4
Terry Rozier
Season Avg:
Points: 5.8
Assists: 1.9
Rebounds: 3.3
Steals: 0.4
Turnovers: 0.3
Kentucky
Aaron Harrison
Season Avg:
Points: 15.1
Assists: 2.3
Rebounds: 3.3
Steals: 1.1
Turnovers: 1.6
Dominique Hawkins
Season Avg:
Points: 1.5
Assists: 0.8
Rebounds: 1.1
Steals: 0.3
Turnovers: 0.4
My Outlook
To me, this would be a fairly even match-up if we were talking about Rozier vs Harrison. But when you factor in Russ Smith, the Cards clearly have the advantage at the shooting guard spot. Smith is one of the best players in the country and a preseason All-American, and he has been playing like it. His previous career high for assists average in a season is 2.9 per game. So far this year he is averaging 5 assists per game, which is awesome because we know he can score whenever he wants. Now he is getting his teammates more involved. Speaking of assists, Terry Rozier has 23 assists and only 3 turnovers this season.
Aaron Harrison has been solid for Kentucky as he is 2nd on the team in scoring (15.1) and assists (2.3). He is about 6 inches taller than Smith and 5 inches taller than Rozier, so the Cards will definitely have to box out from the guard position. That will also make it a little easier for Harrison to get a shot off against the shorter guards, but with the defensive pressure, he will likely have a hard time getting open to even get a clean look.
This will be Russ Smith’s 5th game against Kentucky. I know the players on each team don’t know much about the rivalry because it’s more about the fans. But Kentucky’s freshmen will know pretty quickly that the atmosphere is different than usual and this game is bigger. So to have players that have already played in this rivalry will help out. The last time Louisville played Kentucky at Rupp, Russ Smith scored 30 of the Cards’ 62 points. Harrison is a good freshman for the Cats, but I will have to say when it comes to the shooting guard spot: advantage Cards.
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