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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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DALLAS, TX – MARCH 15: Kevon Harris #1 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks celebrates against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – MARCH 15: Kevon Harris #1 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks celebrates against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Stephen F. Austin

Win over Duke

Losses to Alabama and Rutgers

If there’s a hot name right now that top seeds simply don’t want to draw, it’s Stephen F. Austin.

Many remember the Lumberjacks as the team who sprung a massive upset over 3rd-seeded West Virginia in the 2016 NCAA tournament, but they have remained consistent over the last 6-7 years, and look to return to the postseason with one of their better squads yet.

SFA sprung a massive upset at Duke early in the season, and since then have one lost one game.

Current Illinois head man Brad Underwood was the Jacks’ coach during that upset, but Kyle Keller took over after his departure and led SFA back to the tournament in 2018.

Among the players on that ’18 squad was current senior Kevon Harris. The 6’6″ senior has scored in double figures in every game this season, and averages 17,5 points, six boards, and two assists a game while shooting better than 42 percent from beyond the arc.

The Lumberjacks are an extremely deep,  veteran-laden squad, as evidenced by the fact that their second-leading scorer- junior guard Cameron Johnson– comes off the bench.

SFA shoots 37 percent from deep, gets to the free-throw line more than all but seven teams in the country, and averages over 80 points per game.

This team has obviously not faced a super stringent schedule playing in the Southland conference, but the fact remains that they are a squad built to make a run in March. They are junior and senior-heavy- You have to work your way down to the 10th man on the bench to find a sophomore on this squad. They have experienced guard play, solid coaching, and their non-conference schedule tested them enough to ready them for postseason play.

Like every team on this list, Stephen F. Austin isn’t a team that Louisville should lose to, but they are not a team anyone wants to draw.

If you’re in search of a potential high seed upset, the Lumberjacks seem most well-equipped to take care of business.

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