By Derek DeBurger
No. 22 Louisville will end the regular season with a massive game against the No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish with even bigger implications.
Louisville is currently in a three-way tie for third place in the ACC. The tiebreakers are not in the Cards’ favor. There are scenarios where the team finishes anywhere from second to fifth, but a loss to the Irish guarantees a fifth-place finish.
Louisville won the first matchup between the two on Feb 8 at home. Sunday’s matchup will be in front of a sold-out crowd in South Bend celebrating senior night for the Irish. The environment will be electric. The Cards will need to play an excellent game to come away with a win. Luckily, their first meeting’s performance was less-than-stellar and they still came away victorious, never trailing.
Notre Dame is coming off four consecutive wins, including an upset of No. 5 Virginia Tech. The Irish are playing their best ball right now by maintaining what made them elite and addressing their struggles. There are very few weaknesses for the Irish, but Louisville has the coaching and talent to find and exploit them.
I don’t expect a win on Sunday, but I have all the faith in the Cards’ ability to steal one on the road.
Photo Courtesy // Chris Carter, U of L Athletics
