12. Louisville (9-1)
A major story from last season was how Louisville went from an awful joke of a program back into national legitimacy under Pat Kelsey and this year is about sustaining that success. The Cardinals have looked the part of a top team and ACC contender once again, punctuated by those great wins over Indiana and Kentucky already this season.
The Cardinals saw the floor just once this week but really kept that momentum going with their best offensive showing of the year. While they didn’t hit 100 again, Louisville really delivered in a 99-73 win over Memphis on Saturday. Six different players scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Ryan Conwell and a 16-point effort out of Mikel Brown Jr.
Kelsey has a talented lineup, substantial depth, and the playmakers to make a run at an ACC title that has elude this program. The offense was insanely efficient against Memphis and this team is quickly putting that road loss at Arkansas back as a distant memory. This challenging December continues throwing haymakers on Tuesday for a trip to Tennessee.