Louisville basketball now knows who they will face off with this fall as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Slowly but surely we’re starting to see the 2019 Louisville basketball non-conference schedule take shape.
We already know about Kentucky, who the Cards will face on the road at Rupp Arena this season, looking for their first win since December of 2016. The Cards will also face in-state foe, Western Kentucky in Nashville, as apart of a new series. This will be the first time the Cards and Hilltoppers have faced off since 2016.
We also know that the Cards will head to New York City in December to take place in the annual Jimmy V Classic, and will go head-to-head with defending National Runner Up Texas Tech.
There are some other mid-major to low-mid major opponents sprinkled in, but I won’t bore you with the details. With just a handful of games left to be announced, all eyes were on the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, as that’s likely the last “big” opponent outside of the ACC schedule to be announced.
After Minnesota knocked off the Cards in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, my expectations were for the powers at be to put the two teams back together for a rematch – especially considering the storylines of Pitino’s son vs. his dad’s former school.
However, that won’t be the case.
We now know that the Cards will go head-to-head with Michigan, who will enter the first year under the leadership of new head coach Juwan Howard.
Matchups for the 2019 ACC/Big Ten Challenge have been officially released: pic.twitter.com/PKjIHxlbww
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 6, 2019
For those of you not familiar, Howard is a former Fab Five member and long-time NBA veteran. He’s spent the last several seasons as the top assistant in Miami with the Heat, working under Erik Spoelstra.
After John Beilein for the NBA to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wolverines turned to Howard. In his first season, he’ll have his hands full, having to replace his top three scorers from a 30 win team.
Michigan figures to be a Top 25 team heading into the season. They are ranked 24th in Sports Illustrated’s pre-season poll, and return some good young talent.
The Wolverines will travel to Louisville to take on the KFC Yum! Center, in the teams first matchup since 2017 when the Wolverines upset the #2 seeded Cards in the second round of the NCAA tournament, in what would be the last game played by Donovan Mitchell and coached by Rick Pitino.
There should be plenty of good storylines for this game come fall.
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