Louisville Basketball: Bracketology Update After The Cards' Win Over UK
We take a look at the most recent bracketology where the Louisville basketball team just made a huge jump in seeding.
The Louisville basketball team’s win over Kentucky will definitely help them move up in the polls next week and has also helped them in the most recent “bracketology”.
Joe Lunardi from ESPN updated his projected NCAA Tournament bracket following the Cards’ win over the Wildcats on Wednesday night and it looks like they are in a great spot.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the projected match-ups:
Dec 10, 2016; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks starters huddle up during warm ups before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 North Dakota or Long Beach State
The first game of this Midwest region is projected to be the Kansas Jayhawks versus either North Dakota or Long Beach State. It makes sense that Lunardi has Kansas in one of the four top seeds since they are currently the third ranked team in the country and beat Duke when the Blue Devils were number one in the country.
The Jayhawks will be tested throughout the entirety of their 2016 schedule, but it’s not something they haven’t faced before.
This would obviously be a first round win for Kansas against either of these schools. The Cards have already faced Long Beach State this season, therefore we already know they can’t play with elite division one basketball teams.
Nov 23, 2016; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; Wichita State Shockers bench reacts during the second half against the LSU Tigers in the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Wichita State
Virginia Tech versus Wichita State will obviously be a match-up between two teams that are pretty even. Both programs are currently unranked, however the Hokies only have one loss against a decent Texas A&M. Not to mention, they only lost by three points to the Aggies.
Regardless, I wouldn’t expect either one of these teams to make it past the second round of the tournament. Kansas is too good of a team to get upset by either one of these schools.
Wichita State has had some success over the past four seasons in the NCAA Tournament, but a lot of those key players just graduated from the Shockers program.
If I had to guess, I would say Wichita State would knock off the Hokies on a neutral floor in March.
Dec 13, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Tre Scott (13) dunks the ball on a pass from guard Troy Caupain (not pictured) against the Texas Southern Tigers in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
No. 5 Cincinnati vs. No. 12 Monmouth
The Bearcats come into this bracketology as the fifth seed in the Midwest region. It’s also well-deserved, at least through the first month of the season since they are currently the 24th ranked team in the country.
Cincinnati has really only had one tough game so far this season. In that game, they lost by ten points to a Butler team that we will see later in this post.
In terms of this game, I don’t think Monmouth will be able to keep pace with the Bearcats. Although, they did lose by just one point to 22nd ranked South Carolina back in November.
There is usually at least one five seed that goes down in March, could this be the game?
Dec 14, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Ethan Happ (22) connects with Wisconsin Badgers forward Aaron Moesch during pre-game introductions before the game with the Green Bay Phoenix at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Green Bay 73-59. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Valparaiso
The Badgers are back to playing solid basketball, as they are currently the 14th ranked team in the country. While they probably aren’t a Final Four team this season, I do believe they could advance to the Sweet Sixteen in this projected Region.
However, the Badgers won’t have much luck against a Kansas team that is primed to make the Elite Eight and maybe even the Final Four.
On the flip side, the Crusaders have played a very tough team in the Kentucky Wildcats, but that’s about it.
I don’t think their their schedule will prepare them very well for March Madness this season.
Dec 11, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida Gators center John Egbunu (15) and Florida State Seminoles center Michael Ojo (50) go for the tip-off to start the first half at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee
The Florida State Seminoles are projected to be taking on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
FSU has been rolling early this season, which is the main reason why they are exceeding expectations and currently the 21st ranked team in America.
I still think the verdict is out on just how good this Seminoles basketball team really is. They have already beaten their rival Florida, but a tough ACC schedule could drop them out of the top 25 extremely fast.
There shouldn’t be too much concern over this Florida State team if they meet up with the Cards in the Sweet Sixteen.
Dec 21, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler Bulldogs forward Kelan Martin (30) is introduced before the game against the Vermont Catamounts at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3 Butler vs. No. 14 Fort Wayne
The Butler Bulldogs are currently on a roll as they are 11-1 and the 13th ranked team in the country. These guys already have two solid resume-building wins over #22 Cincinnati and #9 Indiana, which gives me every reason to believe that they deserved this 3rd seed in the projected NCAA Tournament.
On the other side, don’t forget that it was this Fort Wayne team that upset Indiana as well a few weeks ago. The Mastadons stunned the college basketball world and probably clinched the biggest upset won of 2016.
With that being said, I don’t think Fort Wayne would be able to knock off Butler in March. The Bulldogs are too well-coached and experienced to fall to a mid-major program in the NCAA Tournament.
Nov 25, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Shaqquan Aaron (0) celebrates in the first half against the SMU Mustangs during a NCAA basketball game at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
No. 7 Southern Cal. vs. No. 10 Michigan State
That’s right Louisville basketball fans, you do recognize that guy in the picture above. Shaqquan Aaron is currently playing for USC and helping the Trojans rise to new heights in 2016. They are currently 12-0, but their toughest game so far has probably been BYU. That’s simply not good enough of a non-conference schedule for us to label Southern California as legit.
Michigan State, on the on the other hand, has been struggling big-time in the early parts of this season.
The Spartans are currently 8-5 with losses to Kentucky, Arizona, Baylor, Duke and Northeastern.
Other than Northeastern, the Spartans losses can be seen as excusable, but the Michigan State teams of the past would have at least won a few of those games.
Either way, Louisville could beat both schools in the second round.
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Deng Adel (22) reacts after time expired in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Winthrop
Here we go, Louisville moved all the way up into the second seed after their huge upset win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday night. The Cards could drop after playing Virginia, Indiana, and Notre Dame consecutively over the next few weeks, but after seeing how well they played against UK, I expect them to make it through that stretch strong.
A tough ACC schedule will absolutely prepare the Cards for whatever comes their way in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Doubt this team and they will prove you wrong. That is exactly what we learned about this team whenever they face the Wildcats.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team make run to the Final Four in March.
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