21. Louisville (23-10)
The record doesn’t stand out as much as last season but Louisville remains a notable face in the ACC race. Sure, the Cardinals weren’t quite as explosive but at their best had some really nice performances this season. The road was rocky at times but they got a really nice win at Miami to put a bowtie on the regular season and entered the ACC Tournament with plenty to play for this week.
Their first outing went according to plan, delivering a 62-58 win over SMU to kick start the week. Ryan Conwell led the scoring with 16 points while Adrian Wooley added 14 points and 6 rebounds on what wasn’t the best shooting performance for the team. It didn’t get much better on Thursday and their ACC Tourney run would end in those quarterfinals, falling 78-73 to Miami. The Hurricanes got them back for last week despite Conwell’s 22-point, 9-rebound showing.
The Cardinals picked a pretty inopportune time to have their worst shooting week of the season. Pat Kelsey revolutionized this roster to fix those issues from last season, issues that plagued that especially in those important games late in the season. Louisville has a lot of potential with this talent but the shooters need to make their shots for the Cardinals to be a player next week.