Bubba Cunningham breaks down seeding of Louisville after ACC run

The Louisville Cardinals orchestrated an impressive turnaround this season. With their new head coach, Pat Kelsey, guiding his team all the way to the 2025 ACC Tournament Championship, everybody knew the Cardinals were a lock to get in the NCAA Tourney field.

But, what left many people scratching their heads was the fact that Louisville got a No. 8 seed drawing the No. 9 seed Creighton Blue Jays in the first round of the South Region.

On Sunday evening, NCAA Tourney Selection Committee Chairman Bubba Cunningham decided to explain their reasoning behind their low seeding.

Bubba Cunningham on Louisville seeding in NCAA field

Cunningham was asked about the Cardinals’ early non-conference losses like Tennessee to Ole Miss. Those were by big margins. How much did that factor into the seeding?

“Yeah, every game matters,” Cunningham explained. “And I do think those losses were tough losses for them. But they had a great year. Louisville is an outstanding team. Hats off to what they’ve been able to do. Pat Kelsey coming in there, turning that thing around. They had an outstanding year. Only one loss in Quad 2.

“But you know, again, as I just mentioned just about five minutes ago. The quality of this field is really good. And when you’re scrubbing teams up and down and trying to compare them. You know, every last kind of blemish on your record might move you down a notch or a big win may move you up. And I look forward to watching them in the tournament. I think they could have a great tournament'”

The Cardinals finished with an impressive 18-2 record in the ACC, good enough for second place in the conference. They also boasted an overall record of 27-7, yet the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee decided to put them at No. 8. According to EvanMiya.com, the No. 8 seeds in the 2025 NCAA Tournament are ranked ahead of the No. 5 seeds in the tournament, which doesn’t make any sense at all.

Even tougher for the Cardinals, if they get past Creighton in the first round, a potential matchup with the No. 1 overall seed in the tourney, the Auburn Tigers, looms in the second round.

Louisville and Creighton will face off on Thursday, March 20th. Tip-off time is set for 12:15 p.m. EST.