Overreactions from week one: 9 Predictions for Louisville Basketball
By Andy Harrell
No. 1: Louisville Will Defeat a Top 5 Team
Frankly this isn’t that big of a stretch. It’s just a matter of statistics, a little probability and a hearty dose of Murphy’s Law. Given optimal conditions, Louisville could have 10 or more games against a team at or near being a Top 5 team(depending on the poll and the week)
The possible top 5 matchups are abundant given all of Louisville’s matchups against teams currently ranked in the Top 25 in week 1 (ranking numbers are based on pre-season polls):
11/21- Neutral-#6 Tennessee
11/27-Neutral-#10 Michigan St
12/29-Home-#2 Kentucky
1/12-Away-#8 UNC
2/2-Home-#8 UNC
2/4-Away-#15 VT
2/9-Away-#17 FSU
2/12-Home-#4 Duke
2/16-Home-#22 Clemson
2/20-Away-#16 Syracuse
2/23-Home-#5 UVA
3/9-Away-#5 UVA
I don’t have perfect recall but I can’t remember, in my lifetime, an expected strength of schedule so tough for a Louisville team. So again, probably not that much of a stretch, especially to be #1 on this list but I think most people wouldn’t call this prediction likely or at least WOULD not have called it likely at the end of last season.
Next. Louisville basketball season predictions roundtable. dark
Summary: The Cards handle UVA at home and have such a shortage of a #1 offensive option that it disallows for an effective Kentucky game plan and Coach Mack gets his first rivalry win in his first try against Calipari and the Cats.
Prediction Confidence Level: No comment, I don’t jinx beating Kentucky. Go Cards!