Sports

Louisville our bracket besters

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Before you hand in your bracket, do yourself a favor and follow one of the newer trends in college basketball:

Coaches now use timeouts when they think the opposition is about to go on a run or when they are displeased by a couple of offensive possessions instead of the frantic, stop-the-bleeding timeout.

It’s proactive. It’s smart.

Follow their lead. Before you commit, take a timeout. Grab a cup of coffee at The Commons on Seventh Avenue. Have the smothered chicken leg at Sylvia’s. Grab a slice of cheesecake at Junior’s.

Then forget all the rhetoric (some of it from this column) about this being the most wide-open, unpredictable tournament in years. The truth is it’s almost always a yard sale.

Remember George Mason? Butler? UConn with a one-man pocket rocket from The Bronx named Kemba Walker. Kentucky’s wire-to-wire run last year was an anomaly.

So, at this time of year, we hold these truths to be self-evident:

* Pick a team with an experienced, smart point guard.

* Pick a team with a big man that can affect the game by scoring or getting to the foul line.

* Pick a team that rebounds.

* Pick a team that makes free throws.

* Pick a team that has an unusual style of play that can’t be simulated by opponents with just one day of practice.

* Pick a team playing close to home.

In other words, pick Louisville.

“Louisville is as close to the equal of that team in this tournament,’’ CBS studio analyst Greg Anthony told The Post. “They are the team to beat for the reasons you mentioned and some others.

“They’ve proven they can overcome adversity. They lost their best player for a month [center Gorgui Dieng] and only lost one game. They’re deep. And they can take you out of your game.’’

Since a five-overtime loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 9, Louisville has won 10 straight. In Peyton Siva, only the second player to twice win Most Outstanding Player in the Big East tournament (Patrick Ewing was the other), Louisville has the point guard.

In Dieng, it has the center. The Cardinals are a solid rebounding team that is getting better with the emergence of freshman Montrezl Harrell, who had seven rebounds in a 78-61 win over Syracuse in the Big East title game.

They shoot almost 72 percent from the line, putting them in the top third in the nation. Their helter-skelter trap defense turned a 16-point deficit into a 17-point win against the Orange.

And the Cards open in their home state in Lexington, Ky., and would advance to Indianapolis before heading to the Final Four in Atlanta. As for the rest of your bracket, you’re on your own, but please feel free to refer to ours.