Atlantic Chaos Conference and the Home Stretch -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Atlantic Chaos Conference and the Home Stretch of the Regular Season

As Paulie mentioned yesterday, a Louisville victory added to the already chaotic season for ACC women's basketball. The Cards were one of four teams sitting fourth in the conference at 8-4 after Sunday.

With their win over Notre Dame, Duke holds the top spot in the ACC with a 10-2 record. Notre Dame and Florida State sit right behind them at 9-3. Then things get jumbled real quick.

Virginia Tech improved to 9-4 with a win against NC State last night. Louisville, Miami, and North Carolina are all 8-4. The Cards are fresh off a win against the Tar Heels, but lost to the Hokies earlier this season. Louisville and Miami will play at the KFC Yum! Center on February 23.

NC State is 6-6 following their loss last night. Syracuse kicks off the teams below .500 in conference play at 6-7. Wake Forest is 5-8.

The "bottom dwellers" so to speak consist of Clemson and Boston College at 4-9, Georgia Tech at 3-9, Virginia at 3-10, and Pitt at 1-11.

With just six games remaining, many teams are close to locking in their ACC Tournament seed, or earning a first or second round bye at the very least.

Louisville travels to Virginia on Thursday. The Cavaliers have struggled this season, mirroring that of last season where they forfeited multiple games, including their match-up to Louisville last season.

Clemson then comes to town on Super Bowl Sunday, The game was originally scheduled for 6:00 p.m., but has since been moved up to 2:00 p.m. After a 9-3 non-conference slate, the Tigers have taken a turn for the worse since conference play began.

The Cards then travel up to South Bend to take on a Notre Dame team that has gone 2-2 since losing Dara Mabrey for the season. Still, with Olivia Miles captaining this team, the Irish continue to be dangerous.

Louisville remains on the road when they visit Boston College. The Cards needed a 16-8 run in the final five minutes of the game to beat the Eagles in their meeting back on January 19. Joanna Bernabei-McNamee is known for having her team ready to play tough and they proved it last month. I don't think Louisville will underestimate Boston College again.

Miami comes into the KFC Yum! Center next. The Hurricanes have been a team that's surprised some folks with North Carolina and Virginia Tech while also having close losses to Notre Dame and Wake Forest. It appears the Cavinder twins may have revitalized Katie Meier's team.

A rematch against Notre Dame just 10 days following the first meeting will conclude the regular season. Senior Day at the KFC Yum! Center in front of 10,000+ fans is a much different atmosphere than a game at the Purcell Pavilion.

For Louisville, who received votes in the AP Poll for the first time in weeks, winning is a must. Best case scenario, the Cards go 6-0 in their final six games and can potentially move up to top-two in the ACC and possibly work their way up to a 5-seed or 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Looking at the remaining schedule, a 4-2 mark seems more realistic. Winning at Notre Dame is a tall task, but I think they can pull off the win at home. Louisville still seems to have mental lapses in games, which is where I could see either Boston College or Miami pulling off the upset.

But... never underestimate Jeff Walz and Co. Louisville doesn't have four Final Fours and have arguably the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history (over Baylor in 2013) for nothing. This squad could ride their hot streak and finish the rest of the regular season with no more blemishes.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared