2024-25 LCPT Semifinals: NCAA Tournament Selection Committee vs. The Injury Bug

Semifinals #2 is here.

NCAA TOURNAMENT SELECTION COMMITTEE

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

—Defeated Brandon Garrison (84%-16%) in the quarterfinals.

RAP SHEET:

—Ruined what was supposed to be a cathartic day six years in the making.

—Despite being widely projected to be a 5 or a 6-seed, the Committee gave Louisville an 8-seed approximately 10 seconds into the Selection Show.

—The Cards were given a difficult matchup against 9th-seeded Creighton, with the winner set to play No. 1 overall seed Auburn in the second round.

—When asked to justify Louisville’s

seeding, no one associated with the Committee could offer up anything resembling a logical response.

vs.

THE INJURY BUG

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

—Defeated The Stanford Game (53%-47%) in the quarterfinals.

RAP SHEET:

—The Louisville men’s basketball team dealt with two season-ending injuries (Kasean Pryor and Koren Johnson) and a number of in-season injuries that resulted in key players (Chucky Hepburn, Reyne Smith, Aboubacar Traore, Noah Waterman) missing multiple games.

—All-American volleyball star Anna DeBeer suffered an ankle injury in Louisville’s Final Four upset of Pittsburgh that may have cost the Cardinals the program’s first national championship.

—The Louisville baseball team was ravaged by injuries throughout the year, resulting in an up-and-down season until the roster was finally close to 100% for the NCAA Tournament.

In 24 hours, one of these two will move on to the title matchup.

More from cardchronicle.com:

• Louisville-NC State preview: Cardinals look to bounce back with crucial road win
• Lamar Jackson NFL Combine press conference
• Louisville advances to first ACC final with 64-59 win over NC State
• Louisville loses to Virginia in the most painful fashion imaginable
• Seedy K’s GameCap: Virginia
• ACC women’s tournament open thread: Louisville vs. NC State