2. Louisville basketball gets a favorable path
The path for Louisville, if the favorites pull off their victories, appears to be the SMU Mustangs, the Miami Hurricanes, and the Virginia Cavaliers, before they would have to face either the Duke Blue Devils or the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Championship game. These opponents have been teams that Louisville has found it can compete with and beat. Louisville took care of business against SMU at home and knocked off Miami on the road this past Saturday during the Hurricanes' Senior Day.
Virginia was the only team before the ACC Championship game that Louisville did not beat and struggled with in their lone matchup of the season. The Cardinals fell to the Cavaliers 79-70 at home in a hard-fought matchup, one that did not feature Mikel Brown Jr. Isaac McKneely was the bright spot for the Cardinals, as he took the game personally against his old team and led the Cardinals with 23 points. It will take everyone, including Isaac, to elevate their game to overcome this regular-season loss and command their way to the ACC Championship game.