23. Louisville (17-6)
The ACC was largely a disappointment last season even with Louisville’s resurgence. Pat Kelsey is ensuring that even in a stronger year for the conference that his Cardinals are right there in the conversations. Sure, they’ve stumbled a few times and have been outclassed twice by Duke, but the Cardinals got back on track with a big win at SMU last weekend and kept on the right track into this week.
That right track continued Wednesday with a 76-65 home win over Notre Dame. Isaac McKneely had 13 points while Khani Rooths came up big with a double-double off the bench. Their effort on Saturday was just as notable, getting an 88-80 win at Wake Forest for another road victory. Six different Cardinals scored in double figures, led by Sananda Fru with 17 points and J’Vonne Hadley’s 15-point affair.
Three straight wins pushes Louisville up to 7-4 in the ACC. While they’re probably out of the running for a conference crown, these talented Cardinals are asserting that they can be a player at the national level and it’s hard to find too many ACC squads you trust more than Louisville when March rolls around. Looking ahead, they’ll host NC State right away on Monday before a nonconference opportunity against Baylor comes Saturday.