Louisville women’s basketball has proven it can compete with the best teams.
That’s why, for ESPN bracket expert Charlie Creme, the 11th-ranked Cardinals’ most impressive performance wasn’t a win, but a two-point loss to South Carolina on Dec. 4, 79-77. They were just three points away from beating the Gamecocks, who were ranked third at the time and were winning by an average of 31.3 points per game.
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“Just look at what South Carolina has done against some other good teams,” Krim told the Courier Journal. Advertisement
While Louisville’s NCAA tournament seed hovers between No. 2 and No. 3, Louisville has locked up hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2022.
“I can’t foresee them actually falling out of the top 16 and not being able to host the tournament,” Creme said. “They probably have to lose to Georgia Tech and then get upset somewhere early in the ACC tournament and lose a game that they didn’t expect, like not make it to the (tournament) semifinals, something like that, to be in jeopardy.”
Louisville has been on a roll this season, not only coming off a strong performance against South Carolina but also winning 14 straight games. During that span, the Cardinals defeated three ranked teams and recorded six road wins.
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The loss to Virginia was just a blemish on the Cardinals’ stellar season, with the Cardinals’ other four losses coming to ranked teams.
“Probably the most important thing about Louisville’s resume is that they didn’t suffer any losses that you wouldn’t have expected before Virginia,” Krim said. “… Most of them have been close outside of the UConn game. So, being competitive in losses, that’s a big factor in the whole process of selecting teams for the tournament. Obviously, getting these big wins is important, and they (Louisville) kind of check those two boxes.”
UofL was expected to be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the season and has continued to exceed expectations in its final two games of the regular season. Here’s Louisville’s resume and the Cardinals’ latest record heading into the ACC Tournament:
Louisville women’s basketball resume, NET rankings
Louisville is currently ranked No. 12 in the NET rankings and is one of only four Division I teams with a perfect road record (8-0). Here’s a look at the Cardinals’ record by quadrant:
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Quadruple 1: 6-4
Quad 2: 5-1
Quad 3: 1-0
Quad 4: 12-0
Where does Louisville women’s basketball stand in the latest rankings?
More than a month after being projected as the No. 2 seed in ESPN’s rankings, Louisville’s loss to Virginia dropped it to the No. 3 seed in the Sacramento Region 2, where UCLA and Vanderbilt are the top two seeds. With many teams above the Cardinals still having to play in the final week of the regular season and possibly the conference tournament, they could work their way back into the No. 2 seed by winning and reaching the ACC Tournament Championship Game.
Louisville has already clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and only needs to win two games to reach the conference title game.
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What’s next for the Louisville women’s basketball team?
Louisville hosts the ACC road finale at Georgia Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m. and hosts Notre Dame on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Cards will then await their opponents in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on March 6 at 5 p.m. The winner between the No. 10 and No. 15 seeds will play the No. 7 seed, and the winner of the second-round game will play Louisville.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit acubit@gannett.com And follow her on X @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal: Louisville women’s basketball March Madness bracket predictions, seeds
