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Louisville basketball: Teams Cards don’t want to see in NCAA tournament first round

By Presley Meyer

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 08: Lamarr Kimble #0, Malik Williams #5 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals huddle during the final seconds of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 08: Lamarr Kimble #0, Malik Williams #5 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals huddle during the final seconds of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 19: Devon Dotson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks in action against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Allen Fieldhouse on November 19, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 19: Devon Dotson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks in action against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Allen Fieldhouse on November 19, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

East Tennessee State

Wins over LSU, UNC Greensboro (x2), Furman 

Losses to Kansas

One mid-major program that may be in the tournament regardless of whether they win their conference tournament is East Tennessee State.

Behind head coach Steve Forbes, who’s likely to be a top candidate for power five job openings this offseason, the Buccaneers sit a prime position to make the NCAA Tournament as an automatic big thanks to their 27-4 record.

As we often see with mid-major programs, East Tennessee State has looked the part during the regular season of each of the last several seasons only to fall short in their conference tournament – all but sealing their fate.

While this season could be the same story, ETSU is another year older and look poised to finally win their conference tournament and head to the big dance – where they could be one of the most likely teams to spring an upset.

They’re led by veteran guards Tray Boyd III, Bo Hodges, and Davien Williamson, all of whom average over 10-points and two assists per game. They’ve been good enough this season to beat LSU, a likely NCAA Tournament team, as well as a pair of crucial wins over their top conference foes in UNC Greensboro (twice) and Furman. They also played Kansas extremely close during their matchup earlier this season, before faltering down the stretch of the game. Point being, this team has played well against power five teams, which should only help them come tournament time.

East Tennessee State ranks as the 62nd best team in the country according to KenPom, while holding a 107.8 adjusted offensive ranking (61st) and 96.0 adjusted defensive ranking (70). Obviously playing in a low-ranking conference doesn’t help, but thanks to several big wins (mentioned above) this ETSU team could very well find themselves as a 10, 11, or 12 seed.

Depending on where Louisville falls, that means a matchup with the Bucs is very possible. The guards of ETSU present a real challenge due to their offensive capabilities and the ability to lock teams down defensively.

It’s more likely that Louisville is paired with some of the teams mentioned above, but depending on how they play in the conference tournament a matchup with a dangerous ETSU team is very possible and it’s one that could cause some issues for the Cards.

Oh yeah, did I mention ETSU plays at Freedom Hall?  It doesn’t matter whatsoever, but it’s still pretty cool.

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