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5 teams we’d like to see on Louisville basketball’s schedule in 2019-2020

By Jacob Lane

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals draws contact against Justin Jackson #5 and Dion Dixon #3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats during the finals of the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals draws contact against Justin Jackson #5 and Dion Dixon #3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats during the finals of the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Jordan Murphy #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers goes up for a shot against Louisville Cardinals during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Jordan Murphy #3 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers goes up for a shot against Louisville Cardinals during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Minnesota

Smell that? I do. It’s the smell of sweet, sweet revenge.

Regardless of how much Louisville basketball overachieved in the first year of the Chris Mack, losing to Richard Pitino and the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament hurt, and hurt bad.

So for 2019-2020, there’s not a team that I would love to see Chris Mack and the new look Louisville basketball program go up against than Minnesota.

The best part. It very well could happen.

The ACC and Big Ten have the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and when it comes to matchups, typically they pair two teams together that are either close in the rankings or offer up some sort of storyline.

What better than a 2019 first round rematch with Richard Pitino going up against Louisville?

Minnesota is slated to be a pretty good team against next year, though they likely won’t be included in any top 25’s when the 2019-2020 season rankings come out, while Louisville is being projected as high as number four in early polls.

Louisville will be much better suited to play against Minnesota than they were in the NCAA Tournament last season. While we know how the Gophers were one of the nation’s worst three-point shooting teams, which apparently no one told them that as they hit 11 total three’s, where they really made their hay was in the paint. With Malik WIlliams back, and potentially Steven Enoch, as well as the addition of Aidan Igiehon, Louisville would likely be able to win the rebound battle and dominate inside.

The likelihood of this matchup is slim and would only happen in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but I’d be willing to bet there’d be a lot of happy Louisville fans if the Cards got their chance to enact revenge from one of the more frustrating upsets in recent memory.

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