Louisville basketball is coming off one of its biggest wins on the season as the Cardinals dominated North Carolina State, beating the Wolfpack by 41. Louisville was led by Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell, who combined for 76 points and were unguardable throughout the game.
Louisville has just eight games remaining, and each one is becoming increasingly valuable. The Cards still have marquee games remaining, as they face North Carolina and Clemson, but their win over North Carolina State was a good start to turning the tide.
Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology, and the Cardinals will quickly notice that if they get to the Round of 32, they would likely be lined up to face the Kansas Jayhawks.
Related: Where Louisville basketball stands in the latest ACC power rankings
Louisville basketball projected an opportunity for sweet revenge
Louisville is projected to be a No. 6 seed and to face Santa Clara in the first round, while Kansas is projected to be a No. 3 seed and to face ETSU.
The Cardinals and Jayhawks, of course, played one another back in October in a highly anticipated exhibition game. Not only were both teams ranked inside the AP Poll's top 20, but both teams are led by future lottery picks in Mikel Brown Jr and Darryn Peterson.
The Jayhawks and Peterson got the best of the Cardinals in the first game, winning 90-82, and were led by the future top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Brown will likely get a chance for the sweet taste of revenge in this scenario, as he didn’t have the game as he did against the Wolfpack, where he dropped 45, but Peterson was trending to have a game like that if he played more minutes.
In just 25 minutes of gametime, Peterson dropped 26 points on 9-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also added five steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Peterson immediatley showed how special a season he was going to have in this matchup as he was the key reason Kansas went up by 16 at halftime.
As for Brown, he finished with 10 points on 2-of-15 and 2-10 from downtown. Brown would love an opportunity to get revenge in this showdown and prove he can lead his team to beat one of the best players in college basketball. Brown has made drastic improvements and adjustments since that game in October, while Peterson has been dealing with an injury that has kept him on and off the floor.
Brown has had big-time games against notable teams, scoring 29 points against Kentucky, 22 against Arkansas, and 45 against ACC freshman of the year North Carolina State. It is also worth noting that if the Cardinals get past the Jayhawks, then they might face Duke once again, which is the No. 1 seed in this region, which would give Brown an even bigger chance at revenge, as he scored 7 points on 1-of-13 shooting in a 31-point loss to the Blue Devils.
Louisville is seeking its first NCAA Tournament win since 2017, when Donovan Mitchell led this Cardinals team to the Round of 32, and its first Final Four appearance and NCAA Title since 2013, which of course is now vacated.
Louisville showed just how high its ceiling is a couple of nights ago when they won by 41, Â and if Brown can shoot like he did that night and Conwell can be that dominant second option and shoot at a high rate as well, this team's ceiling truly is the National Championship and it is on Brown and Conwell to lead them to the promised land.