Louisville basketball: 4 bold predictions vs. Virginia Tech
By Jacob Lane
Louisville basketball will host Virginia Tech on Senior Day. Three bold predictions for the Cards vs. Hokies.
It’s crazy to believe but on Sunday the Louisville basketball program will play their final game of the season at the KFC Yum! Center, while celebrating six seniors against Virginia Tech.
The pre-game festivities will likely be the biggest storyline for the Cards as they battle with new look Hokies as Steven Enoch, Fresh Kimble, Ryan McMahon, Jordan Nwora, and Dwayne Sutton along with walk-on Keith Oddo, will be celebrated as they take the home court for the final time of their careers.
It’s been quite the journey for four of those six guys as they’ve transitioned from preparing to play Rick Pitino (or in Ryan McMahon’s case actually playing for him) only to see him fired before the start of the 2017-18 season, leaving them to play for David Padgett for one season on way to re-committing to new head coach Chris Mack.
For two years we heard fans and people around the country say that Louisville was going to need time to get back to where they were and that the program may never be the same, only to have that narrative busted due to the play of the players mentioned above.
Alan Thomas said it perfectly in his open letter to Team 106, writing:
"“To all the players on this roster that have had to trudge through the adjustments of playing for multiple coaches here, that is a special type of commitment that we will never forget. Having to learn one coach’s style and ultimately unlearn it, and fall out of those routines, only to muster up a second (or third) wind and absorb an entirely different pace and structure of the game. You could’ve left this place in the dust and none of us would’ve hated you for it. We would’ve understood completely. It takes an incredible set of characters and personalities to be able to band together and put a rocky past like that behind them to achieve a common goal, and I think some folks around the country overlook that, but we appreciate it.”"
The team will have to put all the emotions aside that are sure to fill the building on Sunday as they look to close in on the two seed in the ACC Tournament. They’ll do so against a rebuilding Virginia Tech team no longer coached by Buzz Williams. Instead, it’s Mike Young, the former Wofford coach who turned the lowly mid-major into one of the best offensive teams in the country over the last few seasons.
The Hokies have had a bit of an up and down season as you might expect, but considering the program lost stars Justin Robinson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the NBA while Kerry Blackshear Jr. transferred to Florida for his final season of eligibility, they’ve done better than most expected.
Many, including our friends at Busting Brackets, picked the Hokies to finish last in the conference, but due to Young’s incredible coaching and the emergence of Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech currently sits in 11th place. It wasn’t long ago though that Young’s club looked like a potential NCAA Tournament team, but after losing eight of their last ten that dream has all but faded away.
Sunday will still present a challenge for the Cards, and we polled our team to get their predictions on what we can expect.