The Coppin State Eagles and the Louisville Cardinals meet Wednesday in college basketball action from KFC Yum! Center. Coppin State comes into this matchup at 0-3 on the year. The Eagles lost their latest outing to Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday. As for Louisville, they’re 1-1 so far following a 10-point loss to Chattanooga on Friday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Coppin State Eagles
The Eagles have had some difficulties through three games so far. Coppin State opened up the season with a matchup versus Virginia Tech and got drilled 100-55 for their first loss. Game two wasn’t much better. The Eagles scored just 24 points in the first half and 25 in the second for a 70-49 loss to Towson. Zahree Harrison and Justin Wilson led the team with 12 points each in that one.
In their latest defeat at the hands of Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday, Coppin State was down 42-25 going into the locker room and ended up with a 74-60 result. Malik Battle was the leading scorer with 16 points, and Greg Spurlock added 14 points with five rebounds in the losing effort.
Louisville Cardinals
Over on the Louisville side, they haven’t exactly exploded out of the proverbial gate this year either. The Cardinals had some trouble with UMBC in their opener but still overcame a 48-40 halftime deficit in a 94-93 victory. Louisville shot 50 percent from the field in that one and won the rebounding battle 47-35 but hit just 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
In game two versus Chattanooga, the Cardinals trailed again at halftime 33-27. Louisville kept pace reasonably well from there but couldn’t overcome the deficit in an 81-71 loss. Top scorers Mike James (five rebounds) and Tre White (six rebounds) each had 17 points, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 14 rebounds with six points.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Louisville, but I’m not touching this one. The line's too thick to mess with. The Cardinals are off to a rough start already, and they’ve struggled particularly in the first halves of their opening two games. Louisville ended up shooting a tepid 38.2 percent from the floor against Chattanooga with 13-of-20 (65 percent) from the line and a 41-41 tie in rebounding. That makes 174 combined points allowed in two games.
The good news for the Cardinals is that Coppin State is struggling offensively so far. The Eagles haven’t gotten past 60 points in any of their three games, and they’ve given up 70 or more on the other side in all three as well. Louisville should be in control here.
