Louisville Holding Out Hope for 'Magical' ACC Tournament Run

Despite highly unlikely odds, the Cardinals are still hopeful that they can make some noise in the ACC Tournament.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville isn't exactly heading into the ACC Tournament with much positive momentum, if any at all.

The Cardinals have lost their last four games, as well 14 of their last 16 since starting 10-4 overall and 4-0 in ACC play. They currently have no permanent head coach, no double-digit scorer, and have set numerous school records for futility this season.

As you can imagine, as the tournament's No. 11 seed, Louisville doesn't have favorable odds to make a run in the ACC Tournament and punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

Despite all the adversity they have faced - ranging from lack of energy to behind the scenes issues - the program still has hope that they can and pull off a highly improbable run.

"I just feel like this time of year is always magical, right? Somebody always wins a game, or wins a tournament, that nobody predicted that they would win," interim head coach Mike Pegues said.

Pegues specifically points to last season, when both Georgetown and Oregon State made stunning runs in their respective conference tournament. Ironically enough, both teams also played massive roles in Louisville being excluded from the 2021 NCAA Tournament field.

Entering the Big East Tournament at just 9-12, the Hoyas then fired off four wins in row - two against KenPom top 25 teams - to claim the conference title. For further context, Georgetown was ranked as just the No. 85 team in college basketball at the time, according to KenPom.

The Beavers' run might have been even more impressive. While they started their Pac-12 Tournament run at 14-12, KenPom had them ranked as the No. 103 team in the nation. Oregon State then won three games in a row, all against KenPom top 16 teams.

"Those guys, they had to look at each other and say, "You know what, we can get this thing." If we can play our game, and we play together, if we compete and get after the way that we know we can, we can get it," Pegues said.

Of course, Pegues also acknowledged that some of the momentum both teams had, started with capturing that first win. Louisville's journey of 1,000 miles starts with a matchup with 14th-seeded Georgia Tech, whom the Cardinals took down at their place, 67-64, back on Jan. 2.

If they are to start some sort of miracle run, kicking it off against a team you've already beaten certainly bodes well for them.

"It gives us a good amount of confidence," guard Jarrod West said. "We feel like we match up well with them. Obviously, they've got some good players. They're a talented team and well coached. But again, it's a clean slate. We've played everybody in the league, so we know them, they know us."

Even if Louisville does secure that first win, the odds are still heavily stacked against them. KenPom gives the Cardinals a 0.1 percent chance to win the ACC title, and Caesars Sportsbook has them opening with +12500 odds, or 125-1.

But, echoing Pegues' sentiments, West says that the players have started to buy into their interim head coach's word of encouragement, and "have a belief in our locker room that we can beat anybody."

"It doesn't really matter what teams did in the regular season," he said. "On a win or go home game, on a neutral floor, anything can happen. I think that's where our focus is. We feel like we're in a position where and anything can happen."

Louisville and Georgia Tech will open ACC play on Tuesday, Mar. 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST on the ACC Network.

(Photo of Mike Pegues, Louisville players: Matt Stone - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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