Not quite four days after the evening that suggested anything was possible came the afternoon that declared nothing is. The University of Louisville announced Friday its basketball program will not be participating in the 2016 postseason.
The ACC Tournament will have one fewer participant.
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The NCAA Tournament will have the same number as always, but not as many Cardinals as usual.
Players who had nothing to do with the “Breaking Cardinal Rules” scandal that developed following the publication in the fall of self-described escort Katina Powell’s memoir — some of whom, in fact, were on other college campuses at the time the events described in the book were alleged to have occurred — are paying the most significant price for whatever NCAA misconduct will eventually be cited against the Louisville basketball program.