Louisville basketball learned its path to the Final Four after the Cardinals were named the 6-seed in the East Region. Louisville is set to face USF this Thursday, March 19, as the Cardinals will try to earn their first win in the Big Dance since 2017.
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Louisville entered the season with Final Four expectations, and while the Cardinals didn’t have the season many hoped for, this region certainly stacks the odds against the Cardinals. The East region is quickly becoming a focal point for college basketball fans and experts, and Louisville’s path to the Final Four certainly took a hit.
Louisville basketball has nightmare path to Final Four
The Cardinals' game against USF is no easy win, but if they do earn that first win over the Bulls, their path to the Final Four will be an uphill climb. The No. 3 seed in the East region is the Michigan Spartans, and Louisville would have much rathered another team in that second round.
The Spartans ended the regular season 25-7 and have marquee wins over Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Illinois, Purdue, and others. However, the Spartans lost to UCLA in the Big Ten Conference tournament, which dropped them from a 2-seed to a 3-seed.
Now, Louisville will likely have to run through the Spartans if it gets through the Bulls first, and if Louisville gets through USF and Michigan State, it will likely see the No. 2 seed, UConn, which finished 29-5 after losing in the  Big East Tournament to St. John’s, who, by the way, is the No. 5 seed in the region. Rounding out the top five? The 4-seed is the Kansas Jayhawks, who Louisville saw as a dangerous team when Darryn Peterson was playing this preseason, and they have proven they can be a Final Four contender with him on the floor. And the 1-seed is the ACC champs, the Duke Blue Devils, who beat Louisville by a combined 42 points this season.
This region is loaded with elite coaches in Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley, and Tom Izzo, NBA prospects in Peterson, Boozer twins, and powerhouse programs in these top six seeds. This is a nightmare bracket for Louisville fans, and it won’t be an easy path for the Cardinals to reach their first Final Four since 2013, or even to make their first Sweet Sixteen since 2015.
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