Louisville's loss to South Florida Wednesday night coupled with Cincinnati's win over Marquette means the Cardinals are locked in as the No. 7 seed for next week's Big East Tournament. U of L will begin play on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday's first round game between the No. 10 and No. 15 seeds.
The good news is that the tip for the game (and the potential three others after it) will come at a time when most people will be off work. The bad news is that the Cards will now almost certainly be facing either Connecticut, West Virginia or Seton Hall, a trio of talented teams that figure to have a lot to play for.
Here's how the bracket stands with all but two teams (Villanova and Rutgers) having just one game remaining:
Tuesday, March 6 (First Round):
Noon ET: (No. 16-seed) DePaul Blue Demons vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
2 p.m.: (13) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (12) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
7 p.m.: (15) Providence Friars vs. (10) Connecticut Huskies
9 p.m.: (14) Villanova Wildcats vs. (11) St. John's Red Storm
Wednesday, March 7 (Second Round on ESPN):
Noon: (WINNER of No. 16/9) vs. (8) Seton Hall Pirates
2 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 13/12) vs. (5) South Florida Bulls
7 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 15/10) vs. (7) Louisville Cardinals
9 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 14/11) vs. (6) Cincinnati Bearcats
Thursday, March 8 (Quarterfinal Round on ESPN):
Noon: (WINNER of Wed. Noon Game) vs. (1) Syracuse Orange
2 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 2 p.m. Game) vs. (4) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 7 p.m. Game) vs. (2) Marquette Golden Eagles
9 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 9 p.m. Game) vs. (3) Georgetown Hoyas
Friday, March 9 (Semifinal Round on ESPN):
7 p.m.: (WINNER of Thurs. Noon Game) vs. (WINNER of Thurs. 2 p.m. Game)
9 p.m.: (WINNER of Thurs. 7 p.m. Game) vs. (WINNER of Thurs. 9 p.m. Game)
Saturday, March 10 (Championship Round on ESPN):
9 p.m.: WINNERS of Semifinal-Round Games
Well we beat Connecticut by about 100 and lost to Providence by about 100, so I'm gonna go ahead and take...yeah, a rematch with the Friars.