Bracketology 2021: Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Louisville among big winners
By Joey Loose
Louisville
As promised, it’s time to talk about the disappointing play of the ACC. Duke and North Carolina aren’t their usual selves, while teams like Virginia and Virginia Tech have been exposed in recent weeks. One-time contenders like Syracuse and Miami are struggling and even Florida State has been unable to avoid the road bumps of conference play.
Recently, Louisville has found its own way to stand out despite a mixed bag of results. This week, they took care of business at home against Notre Dame on Tuesday before securing a huge road win at Duke in overtime on Sunday. They needed every one of Carlik Jones’ 25 points in that win over the Blue Devils and are certainly trending in the right direction again.
The Cardinals now sit at 13-5, with an 8-4 mark in ACC play that looks really good. They were recently on a long pause and it showed last Saturday as North Carolina worked them hard. They’ve had a few poor performances this season, but own a sweep over Duke, with wins over teams like Seton Hall and Virginia Tech to help their resume.
In order to better secure their place in the Big Dance, Louisville needs only look ahead to this week. They’ll get two extraordinary opportunities, first on the road at Virginia Tech and then a date with Virginia over the weekend. Today’s win at Duke may bring the Cardinals into everyone’s bracket, but two solid performances (wins even) will only secure their place.