The Louisville Cardinals had been the saddest workforce in males’s school basketball just one yr in the past. Kenny Payne’s disastrous head teaching tenure reached all-time low with consecutive seasons of a few of the worst basketball in historical past for a program with as a lot custom because the Playing cards. In 2022-23, Louisville began 0-9 with losses Bellarmine, Wright St., and Appalachian St. to open the season. They went 2-18 within the ACC, and completed 4-27 general. Final season wasn’t significantly better: Louisville went 3-17 within the ACC and completed 8-24.
Payne was fired after the season, and finally changed by Faculty of Charleston coach Pat Kelsey. Kelsey wasn’t the Playing cards’ first selection, however his infectious power, up-tempo offense, and consecutive NCAA event appearances gave Cardinals followers hope for the long run. If nothing else, it couldn’t get any worse.
Kelsey’s tenure hit a snag in his second recreation, when his Playing cards obtained routed by 20 factors towards an superior Tennessee workforce. After that, although, the pinnacle coach steadied the ship and finally helped make Louisville one of many feel-good tales of the faculty basketball season.
Wisconsin switch Chucky Hepburn took an enormous leap ahead, rising into the among the finest guards within the nation. James Madison switch Terrence Edwards, one other extremely coveted portal addition, additionally lived as much as the hype, rising right into a Third-Staff All-ACC ahead. And Kelsey? Effectively, all he did was earn ACC Coach of the 12 months honors over Duke’s Jon Scheyer.
Louisville completed 18-2 within the ACC, and 27-7 general. It went all the way in which to the ACC event title recreation earlier than shedding to Duke. If this wasn’t the most effective Louisville workforce we’ve seen since Rick Pitino left city, it was shut. The vibes had been sky-high … till the NCAA Choice Committee revealed its 2025 males’s NCAA event bracket.
Louisville will get an 8, wow. Low. And an enormous first-round recreation vs. Creighton.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 16, 2025
Louisville as an 8 is so disrespectful
— Andre Dawkins (@dre_dawkins) March 16, 2025
There are a billion mock brackets on https://t.co/BsZEWaz2cT. A grand complete of two projected Louisville to be an 8-seed. Twice as many projected them to be a 4-seed.
Nonetheless blown away.
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) March 16, 2025
guys can we gradual this down a bit I have not stopped laughing at 8 seed Louisville but
— morrisoncrying (@morrisoncrying) March 16, 2025
UNC obtained in and Louisville is an 8 seed!?! No marvel the @NCAA desires Congress to control it.
— Morgan McGarvey (@MorganMcGarvey) March 16, 2025
Louisville an 8-seed. It’s exhausting to imagine based mostly on their resume, the effectivity metrics, the polls, and simply widespread sense, but it surely’s nonetheless actual.
The Cardinals had been a No. 6 seed in our last Bracketology projection. ESPN’s last projection additionally had Louisville as a 6-seed, and you might discover loads of projections that had them as a 5-seed. Louisville had case for a No. 5 or No. 6 seed even earlier than they went all the way in which to the ACC event championship recreation. Was the committee being attentive to that run in any respect? Hypothetically, would beating Duke with out an injured Cooper Flagg have even factored in to their seeding, or did the committee have already got its thoughts made up?
The newest AP Ballot has Louisville at No. 13 general. The Coaches Ballot has the Cardinals at No. 11. But when the full seed listing was introduced for the NCAA event, Louisville was No. 29.
Louisville was highly-regarded within the effectivity metrics, too, inserting No. 23 on KenPom, No. 23 within the NET rankings, and No. 19 on Torvik. Each quantity pointed to this workforce being a minimum of two seed traces larger. As a substitute, the No. 1 general seed within the subject, the Auburn Tigers, are ready within the spherical of 32 if the Playing cards can get that far.
Louisville as an 8 means the committee had them someplace 29-32 on their seed listing.
There’s actually not a metric on their workforce sheet that’s that low. pic.twitter.com/BHvlJAaAl0
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) March 16, 2025
Louisville opens the event towards an excellent Creighton workforce that simply went to the Massive East event championship recreation. The Bluejays have a fifth-year celebrity in Ryan Kalkbrenner, and really feel a tad under-seeded themselves. The truth that a robust Auburn workforce is ready for the winner is simply merciless.
For as a lot consternation as Louisville’s seeding is drawing, that is additionally a tough draw for Auburn. Why ought to the No. 1 general seed should doubtlessly play the No. 13 workforce within the polls within the spherical of 32?
There may be one silver lining about Louisville’s bracket placement, and it’s not an insignificant run. The Cardinals will start their March Insanity run in Rupp Enviornment in Lexington, Kentucky. That’s often enemy territory for Louisville followers, however for a couple of hours, Cardinals pink will probably be all over the place.
There’s no assure Louisville will beat Creighton. Heck, I picked the Bluejays in my instantaneous bracket predictions. However the Playing cards are basically enjoying residence video games up till the Candy 16, and that’s a giant deal.
Louisville deserved higher from the Choice Committee, however it’s going to nonetheless have an opportunity to show itself within the NCAA event. After the catastrophe of this system’s earlier two seasons, that’s all it could actually ask for.
