Despite picking up two consecutive dominant wins over Boston College and Miami, Louisville basketball can't find their way back into the AP Rankings top 25.
Cardinals have won 12 of last 13 now, and are now 18-6 on the year and 11-2 in conference play, and Louisville and Pat Kelsey face North Carolina State and Notre Dame this upcoming week.
However, the Cardinals got jumped by the Clemson Tigers, and Creighton Blue Jays. Louisville basketball dominant streak seems to be glaringly overlooked, and keeps Louisville remaining on outside looking in.
Louisville basketball defeated Clemson 74-64 a month ago after J'Vonne Hadley dominated the Tigers with his 32 points and 10 rebound performance. Cardinals win streak last 10 games but have won 12 of their last 13, and only loss came to a Georgia Tech team that also defeated Clemson this past week before the Tigers upset win over Duke.
Also, newcomer entering the AP rankings include Creighton Blue Jays. Creighton is on a nine game win streak and in the past week went 2-0, including a win over No. 11 Marquette.
Louisville basketball schedule might be effecting their resume
Louisville had 53 votes in the AP rankings, are still behind No. 25 Maryland, and UCLA, UConn, and Illinois are all still ahead of UofL. Cardinals also missed out on the Coaches Poll, and seem to be ranked No. 27.
The Cardinals schedule heavily favors them to win out, as in their remaining seven games Cardinals have the easiest schedule remaining in all Power Four conferences according toErik Haslam and Aaron Smith.
They end the season on a three game home streak against the Pitt Panthers, Stanford Cardinals and Cal Golden Bears and they will plan to head into ACC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country.
The only explanation to why the Cardinals were left out of the rankings is because they defeated the two of the worst ACC teams this past week. Getting jumped by Clemson, shouldn't completely shock Cardinals fans, but it still does sting a little bit.
Louisville dominated BC Feb. 5, as the Cardinals won by 26 points, and were led by Terrence Edwards Jr and J'Vonne Hadley. Terrence Edwards Jr. is emerging as a dominant offensive weapon for this Cardinals squad. Not only can Edwards score the ball at will, he is also proving he can distribute the ball, find the open teammate and lead this Cardinals team to victories.
Cardinals also went on to defeat Miami without Chucky Hepburn, and are proving to be a legit ACC contender. UofL went 2-0 this past week and the Tigers suffered their first loss since their lost to Pat Kelsey and Louisville.
Louisville and Clemson don't play each other the rest of the season, and both teams are in a heated battle for the two seed. Cardinals and Tigers have the same ACC 11-2 record and are one game behind Duke.
Tigers still have to play UNC, Florida State, SMU, and at UVA, as noted before Cardinals have the easiest schedule in off all Power Four conferences. So, while their resume might be impacting them in the AP rankings, Louisville basketball fans shouldn't care too much as if they finish 25-6, they will secure a top two seed in ACC standings, and possibly one seed if Duke can stumble some more.
Full AP Rankings below:
- Auburn
- Alabama
- Florida
- Duke
- Tennessee
- Houston
- Purdue
- Texas A&M
- St. John's
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Texas Tech
- Arizona
- Memphis
- Kentucky
- Wisconsin
- Kansas
- Marquette
- Ole Miss
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Mississippi State
- Clemson
- Creighton
- Maryland