LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — No game this weekend for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team. Mark it down as the Cardinals’ last weekend off until their season ends in the NCAA Tournament.
And the NCAA Tournament is where the Cards are absolutely forecast to land. We’ve already reached the point in the season when Joe Lunardi of ESPN updates his projected NCAA bracket every day.
Lunardi’s latest forecast has the Cards as the second-highest seed among the five Atlantic Coast Conference teams he placed in his 68-team bracket.
Lunardi makes the Cards a 6-seed matched in a first-round game against Richard Pitino and New Mexico in Wichita, Kansas — with the winner advancing, likely to play Kentucky in the Round of 32.
If you’re keeping track of the rest of the league, Duke is a No. 1 seed and Clemson a No. 7. North Carolina and Pitt are trying to avoid bubble territory as 10-seeds.
With the conference season approaching the mid-way point and no game on the Cards’ schedule this weekend, this is a perfect moment for an ACC Mid-Season Snapshot.
Freshman of the Year
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke; 2. Kon Knueppel, Duke; 3. Ian Jackson, North Carolina.
You don’t have to be one of the 171 former Duke players employed by ESPN to make this call. Flagg’s performance rating at EvanMiya.com, a basketball analytics site, is 10.35, second to Johni Broome of Auburn among all players. It’s also about 35% better than any other ACC player.
Flagg ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in scoring, rebounding, assists, field-goal percentage, steals and blocks.
Transfer of the Year
1. Chucky Hepburn, Louisville; 2. Andrej Stojakovic, California; 3. Reyne Smith, Louisville.
If you want your point guard to dominate the opposing point guard, Hepburn is your guy.
He leads the ACC in assists at 6.4 per game as well as steals 2.5 per game. He’s also tied for second in the league in made free throws with 92 (while shooting 84% from the line). Ken Pomeroy’s analytics site picked him as the Cards’ MVP in four of their 15 victories. Smith has also earned four MVPs, from KenPom, including three of the last four games.
Most Improved Player
1. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford; 2. Jaland Lowe, Pittsburgh; 3. Tae Davis, Notre Dame.
Raynaud leads the ACC in points per game at 21.2. Raynaud leads the ACC in rebounding at 11.6. His scoring is improved by more than 5 points per game and his rebounding by 2. He averages more than 5 three-point attempts per game while shooting a solid 36.4% from distance.
Player of the Year
1. Flagg, Duke; 2. Hepburn, Louisville; 3. Chase Hunter, Clemson.
Flagg will battle Broome for national player of the year and remains on track to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft— even though he just turned 18 on Dec. 21 and could be a senior in high school. He’s the best Duke player since … Paolo Banchero … Zion Williamson … Jahlil Okafor … J.J. Redick … Shane Battier … I’ll stop there.
Coach of the Year
1. Pat Kelsey, Louisville; 2. Kyle Smith, Stanford; 3. Jon Scheyer, Duke.
Kelsey is in the front row for national coach of the year race, directing the Cards to their first appearance in the AP Top 25 in four years as well as a 9-game winning streak. He’s won 15 games at a program that won a combined 12 games the previous two seasons — and done it while losing two top players to season-ending surgery.
Not Coach of the Year
1.Hubert Davis, North Carollina; 2. Earl Grant, Boston College; 3. Mike Young, Virginia Tech.
The Tar Heels missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023. After losing back-to-back games to Stanford and Wake Forest, UNC (12-8, 5-3) is sliding to an uneasy spot in the bracket projections. And the Tar Heels still must play Duke twice — and contend with Pitt and Clemson on the road. At KenPom, the Tar Heels do not rank in the Top 25 in offensive or defensive efficiency.
Game of the Year
1. Duke 76, Louisville 65; The Blue Devils sit atop the ACC because of this win — and there is no return game in Durham. 2. Louisville 74, Clemson 64; The Cards and Tigers are tied for second and this win gave Kelsey’s team the tiebreaker. 3. Wake Forest 67, North Carolina 66. Made the Demon Deacons a surprising 7-1 — and two games ahead of the Tar Heels.
Biggest Upset
1. Stanford 72, UNC 71 (Tar Heels were 12-point favorites in Ken Pomeroy); 2. California 65, North Carolina State 62 (Wolfpack were a 7-point favorite); 3. Louisville 82, Pitt 78 (Panthers were a 5-point favorite).
Predicted Order of Finish/Current Standing
1. Duke (first, 8-0)
2. North Carolina (tie fifth, 5-3)
3. Wake Forest (fourth, 7-1)
4. Clemson (tie second, 8-1)
5. Virginia (16th, 2-6)
6. Miami (18th, 0-8)
7. Pitt (ninth, 3-4)
8. N.C. State (tie 14th, 2-5)
9. Louisville (tie second, 8-1)
10. Notre Dame (tie 14th, 2-5)
11. Syracuse (tie 10th, 3-5)
12. Georgia Tech (13th, 3-6)
13. SMU (tie fifth, 5-3)
14. Virginia Tech (tie 10th, 3-5)
15. Florida State (eighth, 4-4).
16. California (tie 10th, 3-5)
17. Stanford (tie fifth, 5-3)
18. Boston College (17th, 1-7)
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