An Early Look at the ACC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Heads into ACC Play

After a brief Christmas break, Louisville women's basketball will hit the road to take on Boston College tomorrow for their first game in a little over a week. This eight-day pause is the longest Louisville has gone without playing this season, and they won't go this long again. Twice during conference play they'll see a bye week that gives them seven days off. Hopefully, this longer respite can give them the reset they need. 

Louisville stands at 7-5 (0-1) on the season. Tomorrow's game against BC will give them the opportunity to win back-to-back games in December. A loss would mean that Louisville hasn't won back-to-back games since the Morehead State, USF, and Colorado games that were sandwiched between UK and Oklahoma to close out November. With 12 games under their belt and conference play on the horizon, let's take a quick look at the ACC overall. 

Every team in the ACC has played one game, which means that half the league is 1-0 and the other half is 0-1. Louisville was one of six teams to lose their ACC opener at home. Louisville is also currently tied for 15th in the league. At 7-5, the Cards are tied with Wake Forest and sit ahead of Pitt (8-6) and Syracuse (6-6). Surprisingly, no ACC teams have gone below .500 in non-conference play. In what appears to be a bit of a down year for Louisville, that could be an issue going forward. 

The league is topped by Georgia Tech, who remains undefeated. The Yellowjackets are 13-0 and are ranked 13/16 by the AP and Coaches' Polls respectively. GT has beaten three ranked teams this season, including UNC in Chapel Hill, when the Heels were ranked 14th. Close behind Georgia Tech in the national standings is Kara Lawson's Duke team. The Blue Devils are ranked 14/14, and slipped a touch after a road loss to USF moved them to 10-3 on the year. Louisville's escape of USF doesn't look so bad anymore. Duke's other losses are to South Carolina and Maryland, both on the road. They've beaten just two ranked opponents, but both (Kansas State and Oklahoma) were in the top ten at the time and both were on a neutral court. 

Cal and Miami each have just one loss so far, with the Bears at 13-1 and the Canes at 11-1. While Cal's hot start has put them into the top-25, as they sit 21/24, Miami's opening schedule ahs been a bit light. Despite their record, Miami is not receiving votes to be ranked in either poll. The ACC has a total of six teams ranked in both polls, with Notre Dame, UNC, and NC State joining GT, Duke, and Cal. Notre Dame dropped back-to-back games to TCU and Utah in the Cayman Islands over Thanksgiving. Had they not lost those games, they might find themselves ranked #1, instead of 3/4. The Irish have wins over then-ranked #3 USC (on the road), #4 Texas, and #2 UConn. They drubbed Syracuse on the road to open ACC play. UNC also has just two losses, and they sit at 12-2 overall. 

The 17/17 Heels only have one ranked win (72-53 over UK), but their losses are to UConn and Georgia Tech. They're riding a bit on that one win and no bad losses, so we'll see how voters treat them if they drop another game or two. Like the Heels, the Wolfpack also have just the one ranked win over an SEC team. They have three losses, but they came at the hands of South Carolina, TCU (on the road), and LSU in the Bahamas. The Wolfpack have won five straight and have been rewarded with being ranked 22/20. 

There is still a ton of basketball to be played, but more teams ACC teams appear to be separating themselves as winners this season rather than losers. As we get into conference play, there aren't a ton of teams jumping out about which you can say "circle the calendar for a win there". On the flip side, there are more teams than usual that should scare the Cards. Louisville will need to clean up a lot of the issues that we saw in non-conference play if they want this to be a successful season. With the non-con in the rearview mirror, there's no time like the present to get back on track. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'm out sick and Jared is hosting family before heading to a noon tipoff at the KFC Yum! Center. This week's show will be a lighter cast, as we await the word from Daryl. Nevertheless, Paulie and Jeff will bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics from the week. Expect coverage of Louisville's national championship appearance in volleyball as well as plenty of news from this holiday week. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

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RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case