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Bracketology Winners: Louisville rising, Michigan continuing dominance

By Lukas Harkins

LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 27: Chris Mack the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals gives instructions to his team during the 82-78 OT win over the Michigan State Spartans at KFC YUM! Center on November 27, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 27: Chris Mack the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals gives instructions to his team during the 82-78 OT win over the Michigan State Spartans at KFC YUM! Center on November 27, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 27: Chris Mack the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 27: Chris Mack the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals gives instructions. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Louisville Cardinals

Many praised Louisville basketball for the hiring of head coach Chris Mack (formerly at Xavier) this offseason. And in the early phases of his tenure at the school, it seems like the praise was warranted. During this past week, Louisville seriously bolstered their early-season resume with wins over Michigan State (home) and Seton Hall (away). And while these victories did come on the heels of back-to-back losses to Tennessee and Marquette at the NIT Season Tip-Off, these were impressive performances.

Of course, it is very early to determine the quality of victories but these two performances should be Quadrant 1 wins by the end of the year. Louisville is exceeding expectations so far this year, in my opinion, and a fair amount of this success can be attributed to Coach Mack. Still, the players are definitely deserving of a lot of credit.

In terms of offensive leaders, sophomore Jordan Nwora definitely stands out as the go-to star. He is averaging 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game so far this season. But as one of the most balanced offensive teams in the nation, there are eight other Cardinals currently averaging over five points per game. This kind of attack makes it nearly impossible for opponents to slow down the supporting cast around Nwora. Any player can be a difference-maker offensively on any given night.

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