The Louisville Cardinals kick off their 2019 postseason with a matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second round of the ACC tournament in Charlotte on Wednesday.
Louisville just beat Notre Dame 75-61 on March 3rd in their only matchup of the regular season. Jordan Nwora led the Cards in that game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Malik Williams added 16 and 13. John Mooney led the Irish with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Notre Dame advanced into the second round with a 78-71 win over Georgia Tech yesterday. Louisville is seeded 7th in the tournament and Notre Dame is seeded 15th.
Unlike last season, Louisville does not have to worry about whether or not they will be included in the NCAA tournament. The Cards are a lock, but they have an opportunity to improve their seed with a few wins this week. It all starts tonight. A win over Notre Dame will not help Louisville’s resume, but the winner gets a shot at the 2-seed North Carolina tomorrow night.
Notre Dame has everything to play for; they aren’t on the bubble and need to win the conference tournament to earn a bid to the Big Dance. Louisville should win this game tonight, but if they allow the Irish to hang around it could remain tight throughout. They have a player in John Mooney who was a 3rd team All-ACC selection despite being on the worst team in the league. It’ll be important to keep him in check tonight.
The last month of the season did not go as planned for this Louisville team, but a new season starts tonight. We’ll see if they have the enthusiasm and mentality to put them in position to make a run.The game tips at 7:00 ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN. Louisville is currently favored by 7.5 points.
Prediction:
Louisville 82 Notre Dame 64
