Can Louisville Overcome the Odds and Dominate SMU in the High-Stakes Rematch?

Ever get that feeling like the basketball gods decided to sprinkle some midweek magic on us? Tuesday used to be a snooze fest compared to Saturday’s slam-dunk bonanza, but lately, the schedule’s spread out just right — giving us multiple can’t-miss battles every single day. Tonight? Louisville and SMU square off at 7:00 ET in a game that’s got me genuinely buzzing — not just for a wager, but because I actually want to watch this battle unfold. Louisville’s cruising with a solid 19-6 record, grinding through the ACC gauntlet, while SMU may fly under the radar but has enough grit to keep things interesting. Can the Cardinals keep their streak alive on the road? Or will SMU prove that their own brand of steel is more than just a conference footnote? Let’s dive into why this matchup is far more than just another entry on the docket — and why I think Louisville’s got this one in the bag, even if it’s not by a blowout. LEARN MORE.

Louisville vs. SMU, 7:00 ET

In years past, I feel like the college schedule was essentially having the best games on Tuesday and Saturday. Saturday is still dominated by College Basketball, but it seems like they have done a better job of spreading games out throughout the week. Each day when I am checking the college hoops schedule, we have three or four really great matchups that I want to watch. Not just games I want to bet on, but games that I actually genuinely want to turn on. Tonight we have Louisville taking on SMU in a game that should be awesome to watch and to win a unit on.

Louisville is putting together a strong campaign this year. They aren’t going to be a team that you want to face in the tournament, but I also don’t expect them to have a magical run, either. They have done a solid job of navigating their schedule to this point, and have a 19-6 record overall. The majority of their losses have come in ACC play, where they are just 8-4. That’s good enough to be about middle of the pack in the conference. They have won five straight games and have won seven of their past eight games. Their lone loss in that stretch was against Duke, when the Blue Devils demolished the Cardinals 83-52. This was the second time that Duke beat them this season. The first time was a more respectable 84-73. Their other losses came against Stanford, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas. There are not too many impressive wins on their resume, but some that stand out include beating Kentucky, North Carolina State (by 41), and Saturday against Baylor on a neutral court, winning by 11.

For SMU, they aren’t really known as a basketball school. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good. In fact, they are directly behind Louisville in the conference standings at 6-6 and 17-8 overall. They are not ranked this year, but they’ve done fairly well against most competition. They did lose a tough one on Saturday to Syracuse and have lost three of their past five games. They fell to NC State and this same Louisville team. The game against Louisville saw them lose by 14 on the road. The other two games were just one-point games. They’ve also lost games to Virginia, Duke, Clemson, LSU, and Vanderbilt. Again, none of these teams they’ve lost to are what I would consider bad programs or teams. They have been fairly competitive in most losses, with only three losses coming by 10 or more points. They don’t have many impressive wins, though. They took down North Carolina, but aside from that, their early-season schedule was soft, and this recent stretch, where they haven’t done all that well, hasn’t exactly been tough.

I’m sure the prevailing thought for this line is that Louisville is on the road, and it is hard to beat a team you just played recently. I really don’t care about those arguments, though. Louisville is a good team, and they are the better team. Will they win by 10 or more again? Probably not, but I think they cover the -3.5 with ease here. Give me the Cardinals to take this one again. SMU is solid, but they are still a class below Louisville.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024