Louisville basketball comes in at No.14 in the AP Poll in the final week of the regular season. The Cardinals' last game resulted in their 17th conference win this season, where they routed Cal, 85-68.
Louisville basketball broke a program record for most wins in the ACC in a single season when they defeated Pitt last Saturday. Louisville basketball will look to keep on rolling and reach 18 conference wins against Stanford on their senior night. Not only do they want to extend their record for most conference wins, but they are still fighting to be the ACC regular-season champion.
This final game will be important for the Cardinals as they fight for the No. 1 seed and continue their momentum into the ACC tournament. UofL will also keep an eye on Duke vs North Carolina. The Cardinals will need to win and Duke to lose to secure the ACC.
The Cardinals will end their three-game home stretch and regular season against Stanford Cardinal basketball. Stanford has had a solid start in the ACC, as they sit at 11-8 in conference play. They have also been poor on the road with a 3-7 record. Stanford was on a three-game winning streak before losing a two-point game against Notre Dame in their last outing.
How to watch Stanford vs Louisville basketball
Louisville basketball will tip off Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m. local time from the KFC Yum! Center with the 19-11 Stanford Cardinal basketball on ESPNU.
Series History
This particular series history is interesting because this matchup has only happened twice. Stanford has always been in the Pac-12, so this matchup was hard to come by. With conference realignment, Stanford has recently joined the ACC. Therefore, these two teams will see a lot more of each other in the future. This will be the third game between these two teams and the first since 2007. Louisville has won both games against Stanford. The Cardinals will look to take a 3-0 series lead and start a potential new and fresh ACC rivalry.
3 key stats to know Stanford vs Louisville
Stanford's 7-foot-1 forward, Maxime Raynaud, has been a problem for opposing teams this season. Raynaud is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds and shooting 47% from the field. Louisville will have to live with Raynaud getting his and limiting the others. With all that being said, don't sleep on Louisville's defense. The Cardinals give up the third least amount of points per game and have let up 70 or more points once in their last five games.
Opposing teams shoot 32% from three against Louisville, as that comes in at second worst in the conference. That three-point stat is huge; Stanford shoots the third most threes in the conference. They could very well play into Louisville's strengths. Not to sound like a broken record, but Louisville's offense has been extraordinary this season. Averaging an insane 80.6 points a game this season, which is the second most in the ACC, only behind Duke.
Prediction
Louisville will end their regular season at home with what they have been doing all season, and that is winning. The Cardinals aim to finish with a 14-3 home record and end the season on a nine-game winning streak. All the talk is about Chucky Hepburn, and deservedly so, but Louisville has more than one star on the team. Terrence Edwards Jr has been on a tear lately. Edwards dropped 58 combined points in the last two games for Louisville basketball. Expect senior guard to continue his impressive month and score 20-plus points on senior night.
Louisville basketball will end with a conference record of 18-2 and an overall record of 25-6. It has been a special season for Louisville, and they will look to continue their momentum into the ACC and March Madness tournament.
What's next for Louisville
The ACC tournament is up next for Louisville basketball. Their opponent and time of the game are TBD due to seeding and opposing game outcomes. The date and location are set, though: Louisville basketball will play in Charlotte, NC, at the Spectrum Center on Thursday, March 13.