Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Buy or sell Duke, North Carolina, UVA, Louisville and Va Tech

By Joe Cook-Shugart

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the second half of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 19, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 72-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the second half of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 19, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 72-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 26: Ryan McMahon #30 and Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on January 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 66-51. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 26: Ryan McMahon #30 and Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on January 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 66-51. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Louisville

Expectation: Make the Second Weekend
Buy or Sell: Buy

Even with the turmoil caused by the sex and corruption scandals surrounding the program, it seems crazy to think the Cardinals haven’t made it beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in any of the past three seasons. What makes this even more emphatically astonishing is that Louisville made it to the Sweet 16 in all four of the seasons prior to the 2015-2016 season.

With an upcoming 11-day stretch that features games against North Carolina, at Virginia Tech, at Florida State, and vs. Duke, we’re quickly going to know a lot more about this team and what they are capable of doing. They have a couple of head-scratching road losses to Pittsburgh and an Indiana team that might not be as good as we thought they were in December. However, they also have wins against Michigan State, NC State, at Seton Hall, and at North Carolina.

Louisville is led by sophomore sensation Jordan Nwora, who has posted 5 double-doubles and is averaging 18 points and 8 boards so far this season. Pair Nwora with Christen Cunningham and Dwayne Sutton, and you have three players who can get to the free throw line frequently, and make their freebies at a high clip when they get there. Pair this with the fact that Louisville doesn’t foul all that much (212th nationally in fouls committed), and you can see the method to success for this team.

When they first announced the hire, I thought Chris Mack was a good fit to right the ship in Louisville. He can start the process in his first season as head coach, and I’m buying that he’ll do just that.