Conference play is closing in the 2025 season as their is just seven games left for the Louisville Cardinals, and only a month remaining before the ACC Tournament.
ACC Tournament is set to take place March 11-15 on ESPN, and the day after will be Selection Sunday on March 16 on CBS. Cardinals will most likely get a double-bye in ACC Tournament and will need three victories to make history and win the programs first ACC Tournament Championship.
According to Joe Lunardi, five teams from the ACC will make the March Madness, and Duke and Louisville basketball are leading the charge. The Duke Blue Devils are projected to be a one seed, and Louisville and Clemson Tigers are projected to be a seven seed.
Louisville basketball is predicted to go up against a powerhouse SEC program that would be one of the most exciting first round matchups of his entire bracket.
Louisville basketball predicted to be a seven seed
Joe Lunardi predicts Louisville basketball to be the seven seed in the East division, where the games will be played in Newark, N.J.
Cardinals are predicted to face Texas Longhorns, as currently is in 12th place in the SEC with an overall record of 15-9. Longhorns are led by head coach, Rodney Terry, as Terry is in his second year at Texas.
Texas top wins are over Missouri and Texas A&M, as the Longhorns currently have the 45th best strength of record according to ESPN BPI ranking system. Louisville comes in ranked at 26 in that same category, and have the 17th most quality wins. Texas comes in ranked 50th with their amount of quality wins, as they are 3-8 in that stat.
Texas averages 78.5 points per game on shooting 47.3% from the field. Longhorns average seven threes made per game, and shoot at about 36% from beyond the arc. Longhorns give up just 67.5 points per game, and opponents average 32.5% from beyond the arc which is one of worst in SEC.
The series history favors the Cardinals 4-2, but last game between these two historic program was in 2023. Before that game the most recent game was UofL win back in 1997 to lift Louisville basketball into the Elite Eight. Cardinals would go on to lose to UNC in the Elite Eight.
Glancing over this matchup, Cardinals three-point shooting would stand out and Louisville would just need to contain Longhorns guard Tre Johnson. Johnson averages 19.3 points per game on 43.4% of shooting from the field, and 37.9% from beyond the arc.
If Cardinals are able to get through Texas, they would most likely be matched up with the Florida Gators in the round of 32. Gators just knocked off the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on Saturday, and are one of the top 15 offenses in the country.
Pat Kelsey and his Louisville basketball are predicted for a fun March Madness and if they make it to the Elite Eight will see the predicted No. 1 Duke Blue Devils, or the No. 4 seed Kentucky Wildcats.
It is a tough bracket, but the games Cardinals could play in would be thrilling headlines and matchups, and the Texas matchup favors the Cardinals because of their three-point shooting, and guard play in Chucky Hepburn.
Selection Sunday is on March 16, on CBS. Cardinals get back into action tomorrow against North Carolina State.