Louisville basketball fell to the Clemson Tigers 80-75 after the Cardinals once again got off to a slow start in the second half. Louisville trailed by just three points at halftime, but, as in the North Carolina game, the Cards got off to a rough start in the second half and fell behind by as much as 15 points.
Louisville made it close and got it within five, but the Cardinals fell 80-75 and are now 20-9 on the season and 9-7 in the conference. While many predicted the ACC to be better this season, the Cardinals sitting with a 9-7 record wasn’t what many Louisville fans were hoping for. The Cardinals had expectations of competing for a title in the ACC, and while it was clear they wouldn’t win the regular season one, many were hoping they could find a way to get a double-bye and make a run in the tournament.
Yesterday’s loss stings for many reasons, but North Carolina State's falling to Notre Dame simply made it even worse.
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North Carolina State upset gave Louisville prime opportunity to climb the standings
Louisville was seed-hunting for the ACC Tournament, and if the Cardinals beat Clemson, they would be the No.5 seed right now and would need UNC or Miami to lose twice. While that sounds unrealistic, the Hurricanes travel to SMU, then face Louisville, UNC takes on Clemson, and then plays at Duke.
So, with North Carolina State’s shocking loss on the road to Notre Dame yesterday, the Cardinals would have jumped them and Clemson in the ACC standings because of their head-to-head win, and then sat on the outside of that double-bye, and would need Miami to lose to SMU and then the Cards would have to beat the Hurricanes, or they would need UNC to lose against Clemson and Duke.
To make it sting even more, Miami is the underdog in both matchups against SMU and Louisville, according to ESPN Analytics. And, with the uncertainty of Caleb Wilson, UNC is no lock to beat Clemson or No. 1 Duke. However, Louisville did lose to Clemson, and now the Cards are likely to get a single bye. They sit as the 7-seed, three games back from the 3 and 4-seeds with just two games remaining.
As of now, the Cardinals would face the winner of Florida State and Pitt, and if they win, they would play Virginia in the quarterfinals.
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