Three ways Louisville basketball can secure a No. 1 seed
By Alan Thomas
A little February Madness in the Big 12
While Louisville is presumably maintaining order in their own house, they’ll be keeping a watchful and wishful eye on the top of the Big 12.
Though Kansas currently holds the top projected 1-seed, it is actually Baylor who leads the Big 12 at the moment, with KU in second, respectively.
The Bears have looked unstoppable for most of the season, but to complete their quest to remain a 1-seed, they’ll have their work cut out for them. Not only do they host Kansas and Texas Tech, but they also face West Virginia twice. Yikes.
Bill Self’s Jayhawk team still has to play Baylor, West Virginia, Texas Tech, and what I can only equate to a UFC match-type of atmosphere at Kansas State (go Wildcats…for once). Kansas has been perhaps the strongest championship contender this season, but I’d be overly impressed if they were able to get to the regular-season finish line without at least two losses.
As far as West Virginia and Texas Tech, Louisville basketball fans know what they’re dealing with. Nothing will come easy for these two very solid defensive teams.
The interesting thing about West Virginia is that while Louisville’s hopes are pinned to a power shake-up in the Big 12, partially reliant on the Mountaineers going on a giant-killing spree, what the Cards don’t want to happen is Huggins’ squad somehow string together a long winning streak that includes victories over Kansas and Baylor. This, in turn, could assist WVU in leapfrogging Louisville with two of the biggest wins you will see on a resume.
On the other hand, if Texas Tech can get hot to close the regular season with victories over Baylor and Kansas, along with both of those teams suffering another upset along the way by any team other than West Virginia, that would not only jumble the crust of the Big 12 Conference, but it would also boost Texas Tech’s overall standing in the national landscape, improving Louisville’s strength of schedule. Also, in this scenario, the Cards’ loss to the Red Raiders in December doesn’t look near as bad.