Louisville vs. Western Kentucky: 3 storylines to watch for 2020-21 matchup

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 08: Samuell Williamson #10, Aidan Igehon #22 and Quinn Slazinski #11 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts to their team defeating the Virginia Cavaliers during the final minuets of the game at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /

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David Johnson Louisville Cardinals (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

The Louisville Cardinals will square off against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Tuesday night.

In a battle of two teams just on the outside of the AP Top 25, this one should be a good battle. Western Kentucky started off the new season beating both Northern Iowa and Memphis, before losing a hard-fought game to West Virginia. Louisville on the other hand has an unblemished 3-0 start after edging out Seton Hall 71-70 and taking care of Evansville and Prairie View.

Louisville and head coach Chris Mack had high hopes of postseason ecstasy in their 24-7 Cardinals a season ago, which was cut short due to COVID-19. From last season, they lost their top four scorers and all five usual starters.

Placed with a very hard task at hand, Mack has handled the beginning of this year quite well. Although still quite a young roster, the Cardinals feature a whole lot of talent. Samuell Williamson looks prepped for a breakout sophomore season, and the tandem of Radford transfer Carlik Jones and David Johnson has been one of the more fun guard combos to watch in the first week of the season.

Western Kentucky’s head coach, Rick Stansbury, has his Hilltoppers playing at a very high level to open the year. With how disrupted the fall has been with the virus, it is not surprising that teams with more experience (like WKU) are having an easier go of things early in the season. The ‘Toppers returned quite a bit from last year’s squad that finished second in Conference USA.

When talking about Western Kentucky, the conversation has to start with Charles Bassey. All three games for WKU have been against likely tournament teams, and Bassey hasn’t shied away from the competition. He has put up 15.7 ppg. and 10 rpg. so far, and has shared the scoring load with guard Taveion Hollingsworth (19.0 ppg.).

There is no doubt in my mind that this matchup will be must-see television. Here are the main storylines to watch for in this one.