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After losing 13 games in a row to ranked opponents the University of Louisville Cardinals have now defeated two top 15 teams in back-to-back games on the road. With those two wins, it appears that the Cardinals will be dancing in the NCAA tournament come March, but now the speculation begins as to where the Cardinals fit in to the tournament picture.
The Cardinals have a 9-4 record in the Big East and a 19-8 record overall. Their big wins include University of Pittsburgh, Marquette University and Syracuse University. While some analysts might point to the University of Massachusetts and University of Dayton games as games the Cardinals should have won, the two teams have a combined winning percentage of 69.4 percent.
Analysts were projecting that Louisville was going to once again miss the tournament after back-to-back losses to Villanova University and Georgetown University. On Jan. 19, CBS Sportsline bracket expert Ton Mejia declared Louisville out of the tournament. But, with the reintroduction of freshman Derrick Caracter into the lineup, the Cards have won three straight, including two of what head coach Rick Pitino called “signature” wins.
“We had to make him a man before a basketball player. He lived in an incredibly unrealistic world. I couldn’t dream of the way he looked at his life. I couldn’t believe he thought the path was going to be this easy,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino about Caracter.
Pitino stresses the importance of a signature win and looked at games against teams such as Pitt and Marquette as a blessing because it is a chance to prove themselves on a national stage.
Gary Parrish, a writer for CBS Sportsline, said that Louisville is one of the teams with the hottest stock right now in the country. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi seems to agree. Prior to beating Marquette he had Louisville as one of the last four teams to receive an at-large bid and had them as an 11 seed. He mentioned that Louisville had a lot of upside and could see their seed rise quickly.
Louisville’s remaining games are against the University of Connecticut, St. John’s University and Seton Hall University. The Cards will be favored to win all of these games. Barring a significant collapse, it appears that the Cardinals are a lock for an at-large bid and the attention now shifts to what kind of ranking they will get.
“I think that they have a chance to get a good ranking in the tournament as long as they don’t collapse in the regular season and have a good showing at the Big East Touney,” said sophomore communication major Luke Johnson.
