Louisville basketball to host Duke, play Pitt, UNC and Virginia twice as part of ACC schedule
The Atlantic Coast Conference on Tuesday announced the matchups for its men's basketball schedule for the next two seasons, and there will be no shortage of enticing games for new league member Louisville.
U of L will play Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia twice next season and the other 10 ACC teams once, including a home matchup on against Duke, which is expected to start the 2014-15 season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The Cards will also play at former Big East rival Syracuse.
Dates, times and TV information for the games will be announced later.
The ACC appears to be headed toward another competitive season next winter, with Duke signing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation and North Carolina returning several key players from this past campaign.
Louisville, which received a favorable slate for its first year in the ACC, should compete for the league title with Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia, which also has multiple starters back from a team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Pittsburgh and Virginia are Louisville's designated rivals in the ACC, meaning those teams will play home-and-home series against the Cards over the next two seasons.
Pittsburgh is one of Louisville's former Big East foes now playing in the ACC. Virginia is the defending ACC champion.
North Carolina is the marquee home-and-home for Louisville. The Tar Heels, who beat Louisville 93-84 last season, are considered a national title contender.
Miami struggled through the 2013-14 season and finished last in the ACC, but the Hurricanes should be better next winter.
Louisville got a good draw with its schedule. North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia are the Cards' toughest road games. They travel to Syracuse, too, but the Orange might take a step back after the departure of point guard Tyler Ennis and forwards CJ Fair and Jerami Grant.
The other road opponents — Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest — will all be underdogs against Louisville.
The KFC Yum! Center will be happy with U of L's home slate. In addition to home games against Duke, North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia, the Cards also host North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
NC State and Notre Dame will be NCAA tournament contenders, and Virginia Tech should be competitive with new head coach Buzz Williams at the helm.
The Cards, who return two starters and three key reserves from a 2013-14 team that finished 31-6, also play a tough non-conference schedule.
Rick Pitino's squad will take on his son's Minnesota team in the Armed Forces Classic in Puerto Rico on Nov. 14. They'll play Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9 as part of the Jimmy V Classic.
Louisville also is scheduled to host Kentucky and travel to Western Kentucky. The Cardinals should also be included in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, which would pair U of L with a third Big Ten opponent.
The 2015-16 schedule gets even tougher for Louisville.
In addition to the Cards' annual game against Kentucky, they'll add Memphis to the nonconference schedule and will likely play again in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
U of L will play Pittsburgh and Virginia twice again, and will also play home-and-home series against Duke and Georgia Tech.
The Cards will host North Carolina and Syracuse in 2015-16, avoiding two major road challenges. Their road trips in that season include Clemson, Miami, NC State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, plus the home-and-home series.
Jeff Greer can be reached at (502) 582-4044 or on Twitter at @jeffgreer_CJ.