There are multiple coaches in new jobs doing tremendous jobs -- most notably Ole Miss' Kermit Davis, who inherited a team picked to finish last in the SEC and marched it right into the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Impressive stuff. But Louisville's Chris Mack is right there with him. Yes, Mack inherited a better situation at Louisville than Davis did at Ole Miss. But it should be noted that the Cardinals were picked 11th in the preseason ACC poll and ranked 63rd at KenPom before their season-opener with Nichols State.
Look now, though.
Thursday night's 84-77 win over NC State moved Louisville to 5-1 in the ACC -- which means the Cardinals are tied atop the league standings with Virginia, Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse. They're now 16th at KenPom and 13th in the NET. So they're significantly better than any computer projected them to be.
I moved Louisville to 17th in Friday morning's Top 25 And 1.
The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Pitt.
Friday's Top 25 And 1
Biggest Movers
3
Louisville
3
NC State
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Vols' 17-1 record includes nine wins over top-100 KenPom teams - most notably Gonzaga and Louisville. Tennessee's lone loss is a neutral-court loss in overtime to Kansas. | -- | 27-9 |
| 2 |  | The Cavaliers bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 23-point win over Wake Forest on Tuesday. Virginia is 6-1 vs. top-55 KenPom teams with victories over Virginia Tech and Maryland. | -- | 23-11 |
| 3 |  | The Zags have won 10 straight since losing consecutive games to Tennessee and North Carolina. Gonzaga's resume features five wins over top-55 KenPom teams - most notably a neutral-court win over Duke at the Maui Invitational. | -- | 27-8 |
| 4 |  | Duke cruised at Pitt on Tuesday to improve to 2-0 without Tre Jones. The Blue Devils are 7-2 vs. top-55 KenPom teams with the losses coming to Gonzaga and Syracuse. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Charles Matthews hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer Tuesday to lift Michigan to a win over Minnesota. The Wolverines are 4-1 against top-50 KenPom teams with wins over North Carolina, VIllanova and Purdue. | -- | 8-24 |
| 6 |  | The Spartans have won 13 straight since losing in overtime at Louisville. Michigan State's resume features 10 wins over top-75 KenPom teams - among them road victories at Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State and Florida. | -- | 20-15 |
| 7 |  | Dedric Lawson finished ith 29 points and 15 rebounds in Monday's win over Iowa State. KU's resume includes 10 wins over top-50 KenPom teams - among them victories over Tennessee and Michigan State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 8 |  | Nevada's resume features six wins over top-100 KenPom teams with the lone loss coming at New Mexico. The Wolf Pack will take a five-game winning streak into Tuesday's game at UNLV. | -- | 26-8 |
| 9 |  | The Tar Heels are 7-1 in their past eight games with wins over Virginia Tech and NC State. UNC is 9-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with zero sub-30 losses. | -- | 29-8 |
| 10 |  | The Wildcats' 21-point victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday extended their winning streak to five games. UK is 6-3 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Saturday's showdown with Kansas at Rupp Arena. | -- | 23-10 |
| 11 |  | Marquette's resume includes eight wins over top-100 KenPom teams and zero sub-50 losses. The Golden Eagles will take a six-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Xavier. | -- | 27-10 |
| 12 |  | The Terrapins' seven-game winning streak was snapped Monday at Michigan State. Three of Maryland's four losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 16-17 |
| 13 |  | The Hokies are 1-2 in their past three games with the losses coming at Virginia and at North Carolina. Virginia Tech lost both of those games by more than 20 points. | -- | 19-15 |
| 14 |  | The Wildcats have only lost twice this season with Dean Wade in the lineup. KSU's four-game winning streak includes victories over Iowa State and TCU. | -- | 19-15 |
| 15 |  | The Red Raiders have dropped three straight games, most recently Tuesday's game at Kansas State by 13 points. Texas Tech will enter Saturday's game with Arkansas with a 4-4 record vs. top-50 KenPom teams. | -- | 23-11 |
| 16 |  | Houston beat East Carolina on Wednesday to extend its home winning streak to 30 games. The Cougars are 6-1 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Sunday's game at Tulsa. | -- | 32-5 |
| 17 |  | The Cardinals beat NC State Thursday to extend their winning streak to four games and improve to 8-5 vs. top-100 KenPom teams. Three of Louisville's five losses are to teams ranked in the top 15 of the Top 25 And 1. | 3 | 8-24 |
| 18 |  | Villanova's seven-game winning streak has allowed Jay Wright's team to start 6-0 in the Big East for the first time since 2016. The Wildcats are the only Big East team still without a league loss. | -- | 18-16 |
| 19 |  | Auburn's loss at South Carolina on Tuesday dropped the Tigers to 4-4 in their past eight games. Bruce Pearl's team is 5-5 vs. top-100 KenPom opponents. | -- | 27-8 |
| 20 |  | The Wolfpack started the season 13-1 but have gone 2-3 in their past five games to drop to 15-4. NC State is 6-3 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with one sub-150 loss. | 3 | 26-15 |
| 21 |  | The Bulls' six-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday at Northern Illinois. The only other loss on Buffalo's resume is a road loss at Marquette. | -- | 4-27 |
| 22 |  | The Boilermakers are 7-1 in their past eight games with wins over Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State. Five of Purdue's six losses are to top-30 KenPom teams. | -- | 34-5 |
| 23 |  | The Tigers have won eight straight games since losing at Houston. LSU is 7-3 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Saturday's game at Missouri. | 1 | 17-16 |
| 24 |  | The Hawkeyes' five-game winning streak came to an end Thursday via a 15-point loss at home to Michigan State. All four of Iowa's losses are to top-10 KenPom teams. | 1 | 19-15 |
| 25 |  | The Rebels are 1-2 since entering the AP poll after Tuesday's 21-point loss at Alabama. Ole Miss will enter Saturday's game with Iowa State with a 4-4 record against top-75 KenPom teams. | -- | 20-12 |
| 26 |  | The Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 in their past five games after Tuesday's 21-point loss at Kentucky. Mississippi State is 6-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams heading into Saturday's game with Auburn. | -- | 21-14 |
