By Harry Barsan

The Cardinals will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the championship round of the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

This will be Louisville’s third appearance in the Atlantis championship. The Cards are 0-2 in their previous two trips.

Same coin, different sides

The Sooners and Cardinals are weirdly close teams on offense. While the Cards average 82.6 PPG, the Sooners are just ahead with 82.8. The Cards average 16.4 assists, and the Sooners average 16.2. Both teams make 29.2 shots per game, and both teams shoot roughly 20 free throws per game. The similarities are almost eerie.

The key difference is in shot selection and efficiency. Louisville shoots more shots and at a better rate and runs a much faster tempo. While Oklahoma is a considerably better three-point shooting team, the Cards are considerably better at shooting inside the arc, being ranked third in Division-1 with 63.6% accuracy.

Both teams will see a lot of similarities in one another’s game, and it’ll all come down to who runs their offense the best.

Fear & Elvis in Norman

As his name might imply, the Cardinals will have to fear star guard Jeremiah Fears. Not only does he lead the team with 16.4 points per game, he also leads the team with 4.6 assists per game and has the 15th highest usage rate in the country. The Cardinals will, just like last game against Javon Small, have their hands full with this shifty guard.

Jalon Moore and Kobe Elvis are two other threats to score, averaging 16.2 and 14 points, respectively. Elvis also chips in 4.2 assists a game, which is second behind Fears on the team.

Porter Moser is known for running a four-out offense with a lot of movement off the ball, so the Cards will have to stay disciplined for a full shot clock every possession down the court.

The Sooners do a good job of holding onto the ball, but they do get the ball stolen at a fairly high rate. They rank 206th in steal percentage on offense, so Louisville’s opportunistic defense will likely have another game with many fastbreaks. Look for Chucky Hepburn to have a third-straight game with a gaudy amount of steals.

Sticky hands

Oklahoma knows how to catch teams sleeping themselves. Ahead of Louisville’s 10.6 steals, the Sooners are second in the nation with 11.8 steals per game, led by Fears and his 2.8 steals per game.

While they hold their opponents to a low 27.7% from deep, their two-point defense is 261st in the nation at 54.2%.

The Cardinals should not be too flustered by this, as they don’t rely too much on the three, and will have a field day anywhere within the arc with their dangerous two-point percentage.

All things considered, the Cards know what to expect against this squad. While the Cards have struggled with the three, stars like Hepburn and Kasean Pryor look prime to slice and dice a flimsy Oklahoma interior. Hepburn, who has been averaging a whopping 24 points, 6 assists and a jaw-dropping 6.5 steals during Atlantis, and Pryor, who has tacked on at least 12 points in both games, seem ready to terrorize this Sooner defense.

Additionally, Reyne Smith has been finding his groove, making four threes in back to back games this tourney, and will certainly draw attention his way.

Louisville has found the next level that they can go to, but the Sooners have made the plays when it matters most in their two matches and are on a bit of a heater of their own. It will be competitive game, but there’s no reason to think the Cards can’t win it.

The fiery final will take place Friday at 5:30 p.m., and the Cardinals look to reach their first 6-1 start since the 20-21 season.

Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics