UNC Basketball: Louisville down key player for upcoming matchup
Louisville will be without one of their key players on Tuesday night. Does the game plan change for the UNC basketball program?
The UNC basketball program is set to take on the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday night as they look to extend their three-game win streak midway through conference play. However, this Louisville team won’t look like the one any of us expected at the beginning of the season.
For starters, head coach Chris Mack was relieved of his duties last week. The program was turned over to interim head coach Mike Pegues, who is trying to salvage the remainder of the Cardinals’ season.
After a loss to Duke in his first game at the helm, Pegues and his team are looking to get back on track against the Tar Heels. However, they’ll be without one of their best players for the contest.
Malik Williams is out for the North Carolina game, Mike Pegues said on his radio show. Says Williams hasn’t met Louisville’s standard and different times throughout the year. It’s an indefinite suspension.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) February 1, 2022
Pegues announced on Monday that senior captain Malik Williams was suspended for the upcoming game against North Carolina. The suspension was described as “indefinite,” and a “one-game suspension for now.”
On his radio show, Pegues gave a little more insight into the decision to suspend Williams:
"“Bottom line, there’s a standard which all of our guys are expected to meet. Unfortunately Malik hasn’t met that standard at different times throughout the year. As a result of that, now that I’m the interim head coach, I feel like it’s my duty and responsibility to maintain the character and the integrity in our locker room.”"
This is a huge blow for Louisville, as Williams is currently their leading scorer and rebounder. He has six double-doubles on the season and is coming off a 10-point, 12-rebound effort against the Blue Devils.
Williams’ absence could be a huge bonus for the Tar Heels, as the senior big man was likely to match up with UNC’s Armando Bacot. With Bacot having some struggles shooting the basketball over the last few games, expect Hubert Davis to look to pound the ball inside early and often to take advantage of this situation.
Even though they are without arguably their best player, it’s still not a game that the Tar Heels can afford to overlook. Louisville features a rotation of 10 or more players that average more than 10 minutes per contest, which could be an issue for the Tar Heels. We know how Davis likes to operate with a small rotation, but he may have to go deeper into the bench for this one.
This will certainly be a development to keep an eye on, and could ultimately play a major role in the outcome of this game. The simple question is: can the Tar Heels take advantage of the situation?
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