Louisville basketball continues to shock the nation with this historic season. The Cardinals are coming off 12 wins combined in their previous two seasons, but after hiring Pat Kelsey, they are quickly back in contention for an ACC title.
Kelsey's squad is led by its guards, and for the first time in program history, the Cardinals have had four players secure 30 points or more in four different games.
UofL has won eight straight and 18 of its last 19 games after starting just 6-5. The Cardinals are 24-6 in the season and 17-2 in the ACC. Louisville cracked the top 15 of the AP poll for the first time since 2019, and in this CBS college basketball expert's opinion, the Cardinals are in the top 10 in his power rankings.
Louisville basketball jumps Tennessee and Clemson in experts' latest power rankings
Louisville basketball will end its four-year streak of not making the NCAA Tournament, which is currently the program's longest stretch since 1952. UofL hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since Donovan Mitchell was a Cardinal in 2017, and the program hasn't passed the round of 32 since 2015.
Well, many think that curse ends this year. Louisville basketball has been one of the best teams in the nation this season, and with their ability to shoot from beyond the arc and catch fire, they are poised for a deep playoff run, and it seems Kyle Boone of CBS agrees.
Boone is a college basketball writer for CBS who has been putting out power rankings. In his most recent one, Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals crack the top 10 and land at No. 8. Louisville is ahead of programs like Tennessee, Clemson, and Texas Tech, all of which are ranked above UofL in the AP Polls.
Tennessee is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation according to the AP Polls, and while Louisville is 10 spots back, that doesn't mean anything to Boone.
""One year after an 8-24 season, Pat Kelsey has Louisville at 24-6 overall and 17-2 in ACC play with a home tilt vs. Stanford on deck to wrap the regular season. They have lost once since starting the season 6-5.""Kyle Boone
Louisville defeated Clemson by 10 points, so it is not a huge surprise that they are over the Tigers. However, Louisville being over the Volunteers is a bit shocking. The Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in the country, but they did lose to Tennessee earlier this season by 20-plus points.
That said, Tennessee has slipped a little recently. The Volunteers are 11-6 in SEC play, including their most recent loss to an unranked Ole Miss squad. The Cardinals have won eight straight and 18 of their last 19 games, while Tennessee has lost three of its last 10.
UofL is much better than they were back in November when the two teams played, and to see a rematch in the NCAA Tournament would be a thriller. The Cardinals and Volunteers have seen some projections of seeing each other in the second round, and Tennessee would see a completely different Pat Kelsey team.
Many experts see Louisville as a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and depending on the ACC outcomes to the day, the Cardinals can be the No. 1 seed or No. 2 seed if they win against Stanford this afternoon.