Many experts felt Louisville deserved an NCAA Tournament invite, but a lackluster 17-point loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament quashed any real hope the Cardinals had of sneaking in. Similarly, Middle Tennessee State thought it had a decent chance of getting into the field of 68 before a demoralizing overtime loss to Southern Miss in the Conference USA Tournament. The Blue Raiders were a 13-point favorite against the Golden Eagles, but lost by three. My projections overwhelmingly show Louisville cruising to an easy cover 73 percent of the time, with an average victory margin of 13 points.