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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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LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 11: Scottie Reynolds #1 of the Villanova Wildcats dribbles the ball while defended by Peyton Siva of the Louisville Cardinals during the 92-84 Villanova win in the Big East Conference game at Freedom Hall on January 11, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 11: Scottie Reynolds #1 of the Villanova Wildcats dribbles the ball while defended by Peyton Siva of the Louisville Cardinals during the 92-84 Villanova win in the Big East Conference game at Freedom Hall on January 11, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Villanova

I could’ve gone a number of different ways here, but ultimately decided on Villanova for several different reasons.

First, as we all know, Louisville and Villanova were foes for years during the Big East and had several big-time matchups before the Cards ultimately left for the ACC. Second, Villanova has become one of the most dominant programs in the country, establishing themselves on the same level as Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina, winning two titles in the last four years. Putting a program of that magnitude on the schedule would only help the Cards bolster their tournament resume, assuming they were able to pull out a win.

Last but not least, Coach Mack is extremely familiar with Villanova and Jay Wright, going head-to-head on 10 different occasions during the five years Xavier played in the Big East with Mack at the helm.

The reason I chose to mention this last is Xavier went 1-9 against Villanova from 2013 up until their final matchup in 2018, giving Jay Wright big-time bragging rights over Chris Mack. Now with Mack at a legitimate blue blood program, don’t you think Mack wants to get even?

Wright is one of the top five coaches in all of college basketball and he continues to build teams that are able to compete at the highest level year-after-year. Mack is looking to do the same at Louisville, and even though he recruited well at Xavier, getting players to come to the Ville won’t be nearly as challenging with the tradition and incredible resources the university has.

In 2019-2020 both Villanova and Louisville could be legitimate threats to make deep runs in their respective conferences and even potentially into the NCAA Tournament. Villanova will be bringing a top-five class of their own, to pair with the talent they bring back from last year’s 20+ win team.

Putting Villanova on the schedule would not only be smart for the tournament resume of Louisville, but it would also bring back some nostalgic basketball that all of us fans remember from the time spent in the Big East.

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