The Louisville Cardinals had been the saddest staff in males’s school basketball just one 12 months 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 total. Final season wasn’t a lot better: Louisville went 3-17 within the ACC and completed 8-24.
Payne was fired after the season, and ultimately changed by Faculty of Charleston coach Pat Kelsey. Kelsey wasn’t the Playing cards’ first alternative, however his infectious power, up-tempo offense, and consecutive NCAA match appearances gave Cardinals followers hope for the longer term. If nothing else, it couldn’t get any worse.
Kelsey’s tenure hit a snag in his second sport, when his Playing cards bought routed by 20 factors in opposition to an superior Tennessee staff. After that, although, the top coach steadied the ship and ultimately 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 probably the greatest 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-Workforce All-ACC ahead. And Kelsey? Effectively, all he did was earn ACC Coach of the Yr honors over Duke’s Jon Scheyer.
Louisville completed 18-2 within the ACC, and 27-7 total. It went all the way in which to the ACC match title sport earlier than shedding to Duke. If this wasn’t the very best Louisville staff 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 match bracket.
Louisville will get an 8, wow. Low. And an enormous first-round sport 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 whole 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 bought 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 onerous to consider based mostly on their resume, the effectivity metrics, the polls, and simply frequent sense, however it’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 a great case for a No. 5 or No. 6 seed even earlier than they went all the way in which to the ACC match championship sport. Was the committee taking note of 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 total. The Coaches Ballot has the Cardinals at No. 11. But when the full seed listing was introduced for the NCAA match, 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 staff being a minimum of two seed strains increased. As a substitute, the No. 1 total seed within the discipline, 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 staff sheet that’s that low. pic.twitter.com/BHvlJAaAl0
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) March 16, 2025
Louisville opens the match in opposition to an excellent Creighton staff that simply went to the Large East match championship sport. The Bluejays have a fifth-year celebrity in Ryan Kalkbrenner, and really feel a tad under-seeded themselves. The truth that a strong Auburn staff 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 total seed need to probably play the No. 13 staff within the polls within the spherical of 32?
There’s 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 just a few hours, Cardinals purple might be in all places.
There’s no assure Louisville will beat Creighton. Heck, I picked the Bluejays in my immediate bracket predictions. However the Playing cards are basically taking part in residence video games up till the Candy 16, and that’s a giant deal.
Louisville deserved higher from the Choice Committee, however it is going to nonetheless have an opportunity to show itself within the NCAA match. After the catastrophe of this system’s earlier two seasons, that’s all it might probably ask for.
