Subscribe
Follow Us
Louisville basketball's win over California brought about an incredible statistic that shows how dangerous the Cardinals are. After two years at the bottom of the ACC Conference, first-year head coach Pat Kelsey has immediately propelled this program back to relevance. The Cardinals once again beat the spread in their 85-68 win over the Golden Bears, thanks to a career-high from senior guard Terrence Edwards Jr.
College basketball insider Jared Berson broke down the significance of Edwards Jr.'s performance in what looks like a harrowing warning to any team that will face the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament.
“Louisville’s Top-5 individual scoring games this season: – Chucky Hepburn: 37 – Terrence Edwards Jr.: 35 – Chucky Hepburn: 32 – J’Vonne Hadley: 32 – Reyne Smith: 30 Louisville is the only team in Division I that has four different players with a 30-point game this season.”
Louisville basketball is rounding into its best form ahead of the tournament
Article Continues Below
Over the past two years, Louisville basketball has compiled a record of 12-52 and 5-35. Former head coach Kenny Payne was subsequently fired after last season, and the Cardinals brought in former Withrop and College of Charleston coach Pat Kelsey. The 49-year-old has elevated every program he's been in charge of so far in his career, and it looks like that trend is continuing in Louisville. The No. 14 Cardinals are currently 24-6 overall and a staggering 17-2 in ACC play. This group is on an eight-game winning streak and has more than a few wins over NCAA Tournament teams.
The key to this roster rebuild has been the transfer portal. Due to its success in that area, Louisville now has five experienced players who average 12.0 or more points per game. If there is a best player on this team, it's Chucky Hepburn. The senior who transferred over from Wisconsin leads the Cardinals in points, assists, and steals. Hepburn will certainly get an All-ACC team nod with his averages of 16.3 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.
Louisville basketball has one more game on its regular season schedule against unranked Stanford for Senior Day. The Cardinals are now a No. 6 seed in ESPN's Bracketology and will likely need a deep ACC Tournament run to change that seed significantly. Regardless of where this team ends up, this is a dangerous group that can beat opponents in more ways than one. Pat Kelsey is looking for his elusive first win in the NCAA Tournament, and it seems like he's got the squad to get him just that. The future of Louisville basketball is bright once again, and it's about time this program is back to where it belongs.
