After a terrible few weeks for the Cardinals, things got about as bad as they could when Providence blew them out by 31 last week. Louisville managed to save face a little on Saturday with a 76-59 win over DePaul at the KFC Yum! Center, and apparently that was just enough to keep a little confidence in the poll voters.
In the latest Examiner.com Top 25 poll, the Cardinals fell from #14 to #19, only a five spot drop.
Louisville finds themselves ranked 21st in the newest Coaches Poll, dropping just six spots from their #15 spot last week; the AP poll was not as kind, where the Cardinals fell from #14 all the way to #23, a nine spot tumble.
Louisville's new ranking will be on the line immediately, as they travel to the Bradley Center to take on AP #21/Coaches Poll #22 Marquette this afternoon; tip time for the game is set at 3:30pm.
The Golden Eagles share a 14-4 overall record with the Cardinals, but currently sit at 3-2 in conference (Louisville is 2-3). The game today is a pivotal one in the Cards' top-25 hopes, their pursuit of a Big East title, and particularly for position in the conference standings (Louisville plays Marquette only once - and it's never too early to fight for a bye or double bye in the Big East tourney).
It will be a tough road test, a tough conference test, and a true gut check for the Cardinals. They got a much needed win versus DePaul on Saturday, but now the grind of the tough Big East opponents begins. Now is the time we find out what this Cardinal squad is made of. They've been smacked in the mouth - now it's time to get back up and fight themselves back into contention.
GO CARDS!
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