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No. 5: LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Last Season: 23-8 12-6 ACC
Rick Pitino lost three starters -- Damion Lee, Trey Lewis and Chinanu Onuaku -- but the Cardinals should be a fixture again in the top 25. Quentin Snider returns at the point, and the wings are talented, with Donovan Mitchell, Deng Adel and freshman V.J. King. There's no shortage of options up front with guys like Jaylen Johnson, Ray Spalding, Anas Mahmoud and the return of Mangok Mathiang. -- Jeff Goodman
Best Case: Sweet 16, possible Elite Eight with a break. Louisville had a potential Elite Eight team last season before the university's administration sacrificed the season on the altar of the NCAA for the sins of Andre McGee. With Trey Lewis, Damion Lee and Chinanu Onuaku gone, Louisville has a lot to replace, yet Rick Pitino can replace most of it. The keys will be the development of Donovan Mitchell and Deng Adel, as well as the contributions of Penn transfer Tony Hicks. Louisville will continue to defend at a high level, but will the Cardinals be able to score efficiently?
Worst Case: First-weekend exit. This is not a great shooting team, and that can make you a bit vulnerable to a tough first-weekend matchup. Plus, there is nobody in the middle to replace Onuaku's shot-blocking and rebounding. Plus, the Louisville schedule is murderous. If the Cardinals see their own blood enough, perhaps confidence becomes an issue later in the season, and there is a lower seed and tougher matchups in store. Is this likely? No. But, it's the worst case.
