COACH: Rick Pitino, 10 years at Louisville, eight years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: At-large bid.
GO-TO GUYS: Point guard Peyton Siva is the critical player on both ends of the court, and is the player who coach Rick Pitino wants to control the ball late. Preston Knowles leads the Cardinals in scoring, and Kyle Kuric is a deadly three-point shooter who made 46.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in Big East play during the regular season.
X FACTOR: How healthy is this team? The Cardinals lost Jared Swopshire before the season even began with a groin injury, and Rakeem Buckles in February with a torn ACL, making it thin on the inside. Siva, Mike Mara and Gorgui Dieng are banged up, and nearly everyone on the squad has missed time this season with some injury or another. Coming off a trip to the Big East tournament finals, a factor in its NCAA Tournament success will be whether all of the bumps and bruises will play a role in how far it can go.
STRENGTHS: The Cardinals have the versatility to go bigger or smaller as matchups dictate, but are particularly effective with Kyle Kuric in the lineup at power forward. Though that leaves Louisville undersized defensively, it creates favorable matchups on the offensive end. Like all Rick Pitino teams, these Cardinals play aggressive defense in the backcourt and can be a nightmare for an opposing point guard having an off day. It forces more than 16 turnovers per game, and is very good at turning those into points. It's also dangerous from three-point range, and gets about 35 percent of its points from beyond the arc. The Cardinals are one of the best comeback teams in the country and are never out of the game.
WEAKNESSES: Louisville is banged up heading into the NCAA Tournament. Rakeem Buckles is out for the year with a torn ACL, which limits the team's effectiveness on the boards. Siva suffered a minor ankle injury against Connecticut in the Big East tournament finals, and while it didn't appear to be that serious it still bears watching. Louisville can struggle to rebound the basketball, and in five of its losses it has been outrebounded by double digits. Its reliance on the outside shots can make points hard to come by when a cold shooting stretch strikes.
