The Louisville Cardinals are coming off of their best win of the season when they defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels at home on Monday night. After that marquee win, Louisville finally got the validation it needed and looked to be headed toward a strong finish to the regular season and a berth in the NCAA tournament. However, that will no longer happen as Louisville plans to self-impose a postseason ban for this season, according to Jeff Greer of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The school reportedly informed the players early Friday afternoon of the decision that would keep the team from playing in the postseason. The coaches told the players they would only be playing nine more games this season, which is how many they have left on their regular season schedule. A ban takes them out of the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament.
This decision from Louisville comes as the NCAA is continuing to investigate claims that coaches paid escorts to have sex with recruits during visits. You can read about the whole story here, but a few players have confirmed the allegations while other players have flat-out denied them.
Through this whole thing head coach Rick Pitino has maintained his innocence, claiming that he had no idea that any of this was going on. Pitino has said before that he has no plans to resign, and it is unlikely that this self-imposed ban will change that. There are some people who believe that Pitino had no involvement, including fellow coaches, but then there are some that see this as his responsibility, which it is under the rules. Depending on the findings of the NCAA, Pitino will likely be facing some sort of punishment here too.
This is really sad news for the seniors on Louisville who will not be able to compete in the postseason in their final year of college. Players like Trey Lewis and Damion Lee transferred to Louisville for their final year of school so that they could play in their first NCAA tournament, and now they will not get that chance.
Louisville is ranked 19th in the nation and was a near lock to make the tournament. The Cardinals now become the second team this season that was almost assured a spot in the field of 68 that will not be allowed to partake, joining SMU.
