21. Louisville (12-4)
Last season saw Louisville as one of the big surprises in college basketball thanks to a crazy turnaround. Many more eyes are on the Cardinals this time around and it’s fair to wonder just how this year’s squad compares to last year. While the ACC is a tad stronger now than it was, Louisville has taken something of a step back since New Year and it’s fair to wonder just what the ceiling is for this unit.
Despite building a 9-point halftime lead, Louisville wasted a golden opportunity on Tuesday, falling 84-73 at home against Duke. The Cardinals fail to topple the conference favorite but did get 24 points and 7 rebounds from Ryan Conwell in the loss. The script was flipped on Saturday, as the Cardinals strangely fell behind early before taking care of Boston College in a 75-62 victory. Sananda Fru had 19 points and 13 rebounds while Adrian Wooley added 16 points over the Eagles.
Louisville has already matched their total losses in league play two weeks into this season after that 18-2 mark last year. We’re not going to spend time talking about the strength of the ACC, but this Louisville team is just sort of floating right now and needs to recapture their identity on offense. They’ll have opportunities ahead to prove their strength, facing Virginia and Pittsburgh this upcoming week.