Louisville Ranked No. 30 in CBS Sports' 2021-22 Preseason Countdown
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A sure sign that the college basketball season is on the horizon, is the emergence of a variety preseason polls. While the Associated Press Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll have yet to be released, their precursors have begun to trickle out.
One such poll is the CBS Sports Preseason Countdown, in which senior writer and college basketball analyst Matt Norlander ranks all 353 teams in Division I basketball. The top 68 teams were released Thursday to cap off the countdown, so where did the Cardinals place?
While Louisville didn't make the top 25, they weren't far behind, as Norlander ranked them at No. 30 heading into the 2021-22 season. Four Atlantic Coast Conference teams placed ahead of the Cardinals: Duke at No. 15, North Carolina at No. 20, Florida State at No. 24 and Virginia at No. 27. Gonzaga, Purdue, Villanova, Kansas and Michigan round out the top five.
"If there's a guy in the ACC who is going to make a substantial statistical jump for an NCAA tourney-level team, I'll put a tab on Malik Williams to be that guy," Norlander wrote. "He averaged 5.0 points and 6.0 rebounds but he might be a top-five defender in the conference. Williams is who gives the Cards a chance at being top-30 good.
"Samuell Williamson has enticing elements to his game and will be the MVP on some nights, but the most talented player on the roster is Jae'Lyn Withers, a 6-8 forward who will need to become more assertive."
Louisville opened up the 2020-21 season at 9-1, and were ranked as high as the No. 16 team in the nation. But due to COVID issues, injuries, and at times offensive inconsistencies, they went 4-6 in the second half of the season to finish at 13-7 and 8-5 in the ACC - missing the NCAA Tournament by a razor-thin margin.
Over the offseason, the Cardinals got deep into roster management mode. On top of seeing eight newcomers replace six departing players, head coach Chris Mack let go of assistant coaches Dino Gaudio and Luke Murray in favor of Kahil Fennell and Ross McMains.
Fortunately, Louisville won’t consist of exclusively newcomers. Forward/center Malik Williams is back after he opted to stay for a fifth year with the program; starting forwards Samuel Williamson, Jae’Lyn Withers and Dre Davis return; as do role players forward JJ Traynor and center Gabe Wiznitzer.
The Cardinals will tip-off the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Southern at the KFC Yum! Center.
(Photo of Malik Williams, Chris Mack: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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