—NET Rankings Update (men’s): No. 16.
—NET Rankings Update (women’s): No. 11.
—Episodes one and two of the Pat Kelsey/Louisville basketball documentary are now available. You can watch the first episode here.
—Last Sunday’s Louisville-Duke matchup is the most-watched ACC Tournament championship game on record.
—Pretty much every mock NCAA Tournament bracket on the internet currently has the Louisville men’s team as a 6-seed. You’ll have to forgive me (all of us) for being a bit pessimistic after last year.
—The Louisville baseball team kicks off ACC play today with the first of a three-game set against Notre Dame. Cardinal Authority previews the weekend ahead.
—The Bullitt East Chargers dropped their KHSAA Sweet 16 girls basketball game against Franklin-Simpson on Thursday. Assumption, meanwhile, topped Frederick Douglass by two to advance to the semifinals.
—Louisville Report’s Matt McGavic has three takeaways from U of L’s two-game run at the ACC Tournament.
No. 2: The defense still isn’t great, but it took a step forward.
Most Louisville fans have bemoaned the Cardinals’ defensive efforts against upper tier opponents this season, and for good reason. While UofL’s efforts on that end of the floor likely won’t be what anchors them on a potential NCAA Tournament run, they did look a little better defensively than they have in most of the regular season.
SMU entered their game against Louisville as one of the top offenses in the ACC, and all the motivation in the world to light them up considering they are sitting squarely on the bubble. Instead, Louisville held them to 42.9 percent shooting, 9-of-27 on threes, and forced 14 turnovers. The Mustangs hadn’t scored less than 68 point all season, and they could only get 10 points from that mark.
Even in the loss to Miami, Louisville held their own in the first half of what was basically football on hardwood. This game was essentially an old Big East showdown, and they still held a one-point led at half. Less than a week ago, the Canes hung 89 on them, and the Cards shaved 11 points off that in the rematch.
Of course, some defensive bugaboos still persisted. Reminiscent of the games at North Carolina and Clemson, Louisville quickly let Miami pulled ahead early in the second half with a 12-3 run right out of halftime – thanks in part to some defensive breakdown. They were able to rally and respond, but the Canes still shot 46.6 percent from the field and an even 50.0 percent in the second half.
“There was that lull in the second half when they were — they rammed the ball at the rim constantly,” Kelsey said of Miami’s surge to start the second half. You could see they put — to their credit. To their credit, they do it really well. But they put the officials in a really tough position. They do. It’s one of the things that make them really good because they are attacking you and driving you even when nothing is there.”
—Lou City plays its first home match of 2026 tomorrow afternoon at 4 against Miami FC. Get your discounted tickets to the match here.
—The CJ looks at what history says about Louisville’s ceiling in the NCAA Tournament.
—Miami-Ohio has March Madness’ most polarizing resume, but there’s an easy solution.
—The Louisville lacrosse team went on the road and knocked off Cincinnati in an overtime thriller.
—Not an overly comforting response here.
—State of the U reacts to Miami’s revenge victory over the Cards Thursday afternoon.
—C.L. Brown has a video take on Louisville’s loss to the ‘Canes.
—A new study estimates that $7.7 billion is spent on March Madness office pools across the U.S.
—The Big 12 has ditched its LED court for tonight’s semifinals and tomorrow’s championship game.
I’ll choose to remember the good times.
—After 28 years, Bardstown Rd. karaoke bar Akiko’s is closing its doors.
I met my wife for the first time at Akiko’s. She hit on me, and I haven’t let her forget it in the almost 20 years that have passed since. Devastating news.
—Five NCAA Tournament storylines to follow between now and the moment the bracket is unveiled.
—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show is back this afternoon to recap Louisville’s ACC Tournament run and look ahead to Selection Sunday. You can listen on 1450/96.1, the YouTube Stream or WBNA Channel-21.
