Louisville Needs to Treat Saturday’s Game as a Must-Win

By Alejandro Aviles
Peyton Siva and Rick Pitino
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Louisville Cardinals will be squaring off against fellow Big East school Notre Dame this Saturday. The Cardinals are 25-5 and are poised to take home the Big East title. However, they will face a tough opponent on Saturday in the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is 23-7 and they have actually defeated Louisville this season.

I am sure most of us can recall the five-overtime thriller between Louisville and Notre Dame on February 9th. The game was an instant classic, but unfortunately the Cardinals were on the losing end as they suffered their fifth loss of the season. Since that loss to Notre Dame, the Cardinals have been on a six-game winning streak and are one win away from fulfilling head coach Rick Pitino’s goal.

After the loss to Notre Dame, Pitino challenged his team to win seven in a row and the Cardinals have responded by winning their last six. It seems only fitting that their seventh win could come against the team that ousted them in the five-overtime game about a month ago. The Cardinals do not necessarily need to win this next game against Notre Dame as they are surely a lock to make the NCCA tournament and have a good shot at taking home the Big East title.

However, the Cardinals must treat this game as a must-win game because that loss to Notre Dame back in February is one that could haunt them heading into the tournament. The Cardinals need to prove to themselves that they can beat the Fighting Irish and get the “monkey off their back” so to speak.

If the Cardinals needed any more incentive than avenging their toughest loss they should consider that it is their last home game of the season and it will be senior day for starting point guard Peyton Siva, who has been the leader of the Cardinals for the past few seasons. His teammates owe it to him to get him a victory. Furthermore, junior center Gorgui Dieng will also partake in the senior day activities as this is likely to be his last year with the team.

There is so much riding on this game for the Cardinals and because of that they must treat Saturday’s game as a must-win. It will be very difficult for the Fighting Irish to come out and steal another win against Louisville. The Cardinals will be focused and ready and as Pitino stated, this will be the “most important” home game ever for the team.

Alejandro Aviles is a writer for Rant Sports and regular NCAAB contributor @aaviles312

 

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like