As if things surrounding the Louisville basketball program haven’t been tough enough, there is still a season to be played. So far the schedule hasn’t been daunting but the ACC conference portion of the schedule has yet to begin. This is both a curse and a blessing.
The blessing is that Louisville’s strength of schedule will skyrocket and playing tougher competition makes you better. It also presents many opportunities to build your resume for March by upsetting a couple of higher ranked team or just compiling top 50 wins.
The curse is that there is potential for many more losses. Also playing tough, physical games night in and night out tend to lead to fatigue and injury.
Here is a look at the upcoming ACC schedule
Team AP/KenPom ranks Date
Pittsburgh -/152 1/02
Clemson -/32 1/06
Florida State 19/25 1/10
Virginia Tech 31/28 1/13
Notre Dame 18/18 1/16
Boston College -/84 1/21
Miami 6/15 1/24
Wake Forest -/64 1/27
Virginia 16/3 1/31
Florida State 19/25 2/03
Syracuse -/56 2/05
Georgia Tech -/91 2/08
Pittsburgh -/152 2/11
North Carolina 7/9 2/17
Duke 4/6 2/21
Virginia Tech 31/28 2/24
Virginia 16/3 3/01
NC State -/75 3/03
For comparison, Louisville is currently receiving votes and ranked 29th in the AP poll. They are 26th in the Ken Pom rankings.
As if playing 11 games out of 18 against top 50 teams to end your regular season doesn’t seem hard enough, they get the dubious honor of playing in the ACC tournament that runs from March 6th to March 10th.
To make things even tougher, this team will have to endure FBI and hooker chants from opposing student sections whenever they are away from the Yum Center.
The road ahead is a tough one but there is enough talent on this team to make this a successful season. And as David Padgett evolves as a coach, things will get better. But he and this team will need to grow up and find themselves quickly because the ACC waits for no one.
As Always, GO CARDS!
