5 Struggling Teams Entering the 2019 NCAA Tournament

Louisville Cardinals

Following a scandalous season in which their 2013 National Championship was vacated, this year was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Louisville Cardinals. Coach Chris Mack was supposed to come in, get a year of recruiting behind him, and start to change the culture of the program after the nasty taste that 2018 left in everyone's mouths.

Louisville was pegged to finish outside the top-10 in the ACC preseason poll.

But Mack and company were having none of that. Louisville started the season 16-5, including a signature win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.

Then the schedule flipped to February, and the Cardinals hit the tougher portion of their ACC schedule. Louisville went 3-7 to finish out their regular season schedule. Even more concerning, however, was their ability to close out games. They blew a 23-point lead against Duke and came within a last-second shot of blowing an eight-point lead with 30 seconds remaining against the Clemson Tigers.

When it came down to crunch time, and the game was on the line, no one seemed to want the pressure of handling the ball. That's generally not a good formula when it comes to winning in March. Louisville's road begins against the 10-seed Minnesota Golden Gophers, and if they win, the Big 10 conference champion Michigan State Spartans could lurk in the second round.