With just three games remaining in the regular season, Louisville basketball is on a quest for history to win their programs first-ever ACC regular season title.
Cardinals have never secured the crown of being the ACC regular-season champion, and after last nights win over Virginia Tech, UofL and Pat Kelsey are running out of time.
No. 19 Louisville Cardinals are currently 22-6, (15-2 in ACC) and are half-a-game over Clemson Tigers (21-6, 14-2), who play tonight against Notre Dame, and both teams are currently behind the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils (25-3, 16-1).
ESPN's BPI currently gives Duke a astounding 98% chance to win the ACC, while giving Louisville a 14.2% chance, and Clemson a 19.4% chance to win the ACC.
So, below is a cheat sheet for Louisville basketball fans, and how they can win the ACC regular-season crown over Duke, and Clemson.
Louisville basketball path to ACC regular-season crown
Louisville basketball unfortunately doesn't just have to win out to take that prize jewel of an ACC crown, it actual is quite difficult for the Cardinals to etch their names in the history books and win it. However, to be in contentions Louisville must continue this win streak and win out and hope the others tumble a long the way.
Cardinals currently are one game behind Duke Blue Devils for the ACC regular-season title, and that is all Louisville basketball fans need to worry about is the Blue Devils. If Duke stumbles two games, then Cardinals and Clemson would have the same ACC record, and Louisville would get the nod over the Tigers because of their head-to-head win back in January.
However, if Clemson and Louisville win out, and Duke loses only one game, Cardinals, Tigers and Blue Devils will all be 18-2 in the ACC and all would be tied in head-to-head, as Louisville beat Clemson, Clemson beat Duke, and Duke beat Louisville.
If three or more teams are tied in the ACC standings, the first tiebreaker is their head-to-head record. The team with the best winning percentage in games played between the tied teams will win the ACC regular season title.
So, it comes down to the next tie breaker. The ACC would line up the three teams, and each tied team's record is compared to the team in the highest position, then to the next team down, until one team has the best winning percentage. Once the three-team tiebreaker is broken, it goes to the head-to-head for the crown.
How Louisville basketball can become the ACC regular-season champion
So, how can Louisville basketball win the ACC regular-season title? First, they must win out. Simple.
After breaking down the tie breaker rules, Louisville needs Duke to lose at least one game to either UNC or Wake Forest. If the Blue Devils lost comes to one of those teams, then Duke will be the first team out of the tie breaker leading it to be Louisville vs Clemson for the crown, and Cardinals would win the title based on their 74-64 head-to-head victory back on Jan. 7.
Cardinals and Tigers both are undefeated to Blue devil's remaining schedule, so if Duke can just slip up one game to either the 5-seed in Wake Forest, or 6-seed in North Carolina, then Louisville will be the ACC regular-season champion.
Cheat sheet for Louisville basketball to win ACC title
- Step 1: Louisville basketball wins out
- Step 2: Duke must lose to either UNC, Wake Forest or both
- Step 3: Clemson doesn't matter at all if step one and two are completed
Louisville: vs. Pitt (7-10), vs. Cal (5-11), vs. Stanford (9-7) Duke: vs. FSU (7-10), vs. Wake Forest (11-5), at UNC (11-6) Clemson: vs. Notre Dame (6-10), at Virginia (6-10), at Boston College (4-12), vs. Virginia Tech (7-9).