Louisville basketball traveled to Chapel Hill and took on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a top-25 showdown. The Cardinals got off to a hot start, going up 23-13, but UNC clawed its way back in the first half and dominated the first 12 minutes of the second half.
The Tar Heels went up by 16 points in the second half, and Louisville found a way to get the game back to a one-possession game, but it was just too late. Louisville dropped its eighth game of the regular season, its sixth on the road, and its sixth in conference play.
The Cardinals' seed-hunting takes a huge hit from last night's loss, and that was evident by what Joe Lunardi stated before the game when he revealed what was at stake.
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Louisville basketball's seed hopes take a major hit
Louisville and UNC entered the game as a pair of No. 6 seeds in Lunardi’s Bracketology, and with both teams seed hunting for the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, last night was a crushing loss for the Cardinals hopes of earning a 4-seed for both. Louisville now sits 1.5 games back from the No. 4 seed in the ACC standings, and as far as trying to earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, well, Lunardi said that dream is crushed.
“A pair of 6-seeds, both with designs on a No. 4 spot, tangle for the first and only time in Chapel Hill,” Lunardi stated. “The loser will be out of the running for a protected spot on that 4-line.”
Lunardi believes the loser from last night (Louisville) is out of the running for the 4-seed. The Cards and the Tar Heels are both trying to climb the NCAA Tournament seedings after they released their top 16 teams, but after the Cardinals road loss to a UNC team without Caleb Wilson, it appears Lunardi is out on Louisville to try and climb up to that coveted 4-seed.
Lunardi updated his Bracketology this morning, and Louisville and UNC remained 6-seeds. Lunardi is revealing that Louisville’s only path to a 4-seed might be to make it to the ACC Tournament finals or maybe even to win it all. Their path to a 4-seed is now much harder, and it might even be out of the equation.
Louisville takes on Clemson on the road this Saturday and then has Syracuse at home and back on the road in Miami to close out their regular season. The ACC Tournament begins on March 10 with the finals on March 14 and Selection Sunday on March 15.
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.