When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: GCU Arena.

TV/Radio/Live Stream: CW6, ESPN3, Fox Sports 910 AM. Sirius channel 113, XM 194, Internet 956) GCU TV  http://gcutv.gcu.edu/player/0yQGrR43X_c/yt (WAVE-TV in Louisville

 

Due to marquee matchups of Kentucky vs UCLA, Gonzaga vs Arizona, and Oklahoma vs Wisconsin, these games created one of the most intriguing  college basketball slates this year, but the variety of games has caused one of the weekend’s best games to fly under the radar. On Saturday night, Grand Canyon University is going to host #14 ranked Louisville. To clear the air, the last sentence was not a typo. Rick Pitino’s 14th ranked Cardinals will travel to Phoenix’s West Valley to compete against Dan Majerle’s Grand Canyon Antelopes. If you live in the Valley you need to find a way to attend this game.

 

What most people don’t know is that Grand Canyon University is one of the best-hidden gems in all of college basketball. We have covered the Lopes extensively on The Student Union before. The team is coached by former Sun’s legend Dan Majerle. One athletic program’s adviser is Jerry Colangelo, who is one of the biggest figures in basketball. With Colangelo’s connections, the Lopes were able to schedule a 3-game preseason series with Louisville, which included the Cardinals traveling to GCU arena. The Lopes and Cardinals played their first game of last year’s series at Louisville, where the Cardinals won convincingly. Therefore, Lope fans have anxiously waited for this game since the scheduling agreement was announced.  The GCU arena will be rocking on Saturday night! The GCU arena has one of the best atmospheres in all of college basketball. If you don’t believe us check out this video in the links below: The Lopes sell out almost every home game, and the chaos in the GCU arena is fueled by the GCU student section, the Havocs, whom Dan Majerle calls; “The best student section in all of the college basketball” http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/gcu/2016/11/27/gcu-coach-dan-majerle-takes-havocs-over-any-college-basketball-student-section-country/94480908/.  Under the leadership of Steve Hunsicker, the GCU Havocs have become one of the nations best student sections over the last few years. The Havocs student sections turns the basketball game into a rave/dance party that energizes the rest of the crowd and terrorizes opponents.

The Havocs student section transforms each basketball game into a rave/dance party that energizes the rest of the crowd and terrorizes opponents. Check out our original introduction of the GCU Havocs: http://www.studentunionsports.com/college-basketball/gcu-basketball-an-unexpected-journey/authorstudentunion: Our initial assessment of the Havocs struck with national publications http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/1/9/10743580/grand-canyon-university-basketball-crowd-LIT. The Lopes have benefitted from the Havocs support after achieving an 18-2 home record last year. The Havocs are excited for this game, students have even started camping out before the game.

 

The Lopes and Cardinals come into this game heading in opposite directions. The 14th ranked Cardinals come into the game with a 5-1 record. The Cardinals suffered their only loss against Baylor in the “Battle for Atlantis” championship game . Earlier this week, the Cardinals played their best game of the season in their marquee emotional 71-64 victory against #16 Purdue during the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge. After the first month of the season, the Cardinals have the nation’s best defensive efficiency rating and have solidified themselves as one of college basketball’s best defensive units. However, Louisville has been overly reliant on their defense since the Cardinals struggled to find an offensive rhythm.  So far this season, the Cardinals have struggled shooting the ball, especially when playing away from the KFC Yum center. During their stint at the Bahamas tournament, the Cardinals  shot a horrific 39.5%  compared to the 47% clip they shot at home.  Louisville matchup against the Lopes will be the Cardinals first true road game. The Havocs will create a lot more chaos than the boosters and families that traveled to Atlantis resort. The Cardinals only managed to shoot 65.2% from the free throw line while playing in pure silence.  Expect the percentage to continue to trend downward during tonights game.  The Havocs will make shooting free throws even tougher for the Cardinals. Saturday The Louisville does not realize that they will be playing in Chaos, and the poor shooting Cardinals are a perfect matchup for the Havocs. In addition, the Havocs will hope to energize the Lopes as they will try to play the #14 ranked team short-handed. GCU is 3-3 on the year while playing top-ranked Duke and Penn St from the Big Ten. The Lopes are likely to miss three of their projected day-one starters. Most importantly, WAC preseason player of the year, Josh Braun ability to play is questionable. Everyone knows the saying “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”, and GCU team plays harder than any team in the country. With a week to prepare, the Lopes will be fired up to play in front of a sold-out crowd. This game against Louisville is GCU’s March Madness moment. This is an opportunity for GCU, Dan Majerle, and the Havocs to showcase themselves to the world. Louisville obviously has an advantage in talent, but the home court advantage created by the Havocs gives the Lopes a chance. This is an amazing opportunity for this young basketball program, as well as a great experience for the student body and community. Regardless of how the game turns out, the craziness that is going to fill the GCU arena will be a spectacular scene. This is a must watch game for those who consider themselves devout college basketball fans.

For a continued statistical breakdown of this matchup, check out this article herehttp://www.studentunionsports.com/austinmontgomery/gcu-vs-louisville-game-preview/amontgomery