Louisville has had a no good, very bad, quite awful month. After a 7-1 January, the Cardinals slipped themselves into uncomfortably territory by losing six of their eight games in February, sinking ever-closer to the unwanted bubble as Selection Sunday approaches. It lead to first-year coach Chris Mack taking a long, hard, awkward look in the team's mirror this past weekend, and Mack point blank said that after the run they've had, he's not sure his team can bounce back mentally.
"We played soft down the stretch," he said after another loss, this time to Boston College. "Guys are scared. Guys turned the ball over. We played soft. It's a really fragile group."
But Louisville should be able to rally, despite its forgettable February. The Cardinals return home on Sunday to face Notre Dame, a team that has lost 10 of its last 12 games, before closing the regular season against Virginia. Win one of two, and it seems maintaining that No. 8 seed Jerry Palm currently projects the Cards at seems feasible. Win both, no worries. Lose both ... and things could get uncomfortable for folks in northern Kentucky.
Viewing information
- When: Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET
- Where: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky
- TV: CBS (Also available on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App for Android, iOS, Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV)
- Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Game prediction, pick
Latest odds via SportsLine: Louisville -9
Louisville hasn't done diddly squat over the last month to show me it is capable of winning in a must-win game, and after another meltdown this past weekend, I'm wary about their prospects moving forward. But if it's one spot where I feel cautiously optimistic pegging the Cards to win, it's at home against one of the worst teams in the ACC. Pick: Louisville 74, Notre Dame 70
[Which college basketball teams should you back today? And who should you avoid like the plague? Visit SportsLine now to see projected scores and stats from 10,000 simulations, Vegas insider picks, and optimized March Madness brackets, and find out!]
