Louisville unveils Muhammad Ali-inspired uniforms for North Carolina game

Louisville and North Carolina will play a big game on Saturday, and the Cardinals will be honoring Muhammad Ali with their threads.

There are a few institutions in the city of Louisville, among them the men’s basketball team at the University of Louisville and native son Muhammad Ali.

The city’s airport is now named after the deceased heavyweight champion and on Saturday the basketball team will honor Ali with their uniforms.

The No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels will pay a visit to Yum! Center on Saturday afternoon, as the No. 15 Cardinals look to extend a six-game winning streak.

Chris Mack’s team can also earn a regular season sweep of Roy Williams’ squad, as Louisville went into Chapel Hill as a substantial underdog and went home with an 83-62 victory on Jan.11 to start their current win streak.

Here’s a look at the Ali-inspired uniforms the Cardinals will take the floor in on Saturday, with some players quoting Ali in the hype video.

https://twitter.com/LouisvilleMBB/status/1091108868841717765

Saturday will be a “white out” in the Cardinals’ home arena, so the players will be participating with their uniforms honoring Ali. It’s unclear if Mack will follow, by wearing a white suit like his predecessor Rick Pitino had in his wardrobe, but it seems unlikely.

Louisville was predicted to finish in the bottom half of the ACC going into the season, as Mack faced a transition period after a tumultuous year for the program last year. Now they’re 16-5, and one of four one-loss teams in conference play right now (with a 7-1 mark).

With some quality wins on their resume, the Cardinals have put themselves on a good track for an NCAA Tournament bid. But these next four games will be a proving ground.

Saturday’s game starts a tough stretch of schedule for Louisville. After the game against North Carolina, road games against 12th-ranked Virginia Tech (Feb. 4) and 25th-ranked Florida State (Feb. 9) and a home against No. 2 Duke (Feb. 12) are coming.

Even with home court advantage this time around, Louisville almost surely won’t beat North Carolina by 21 again. But win or lose, they will honor their city’s most famous native son with some basic, but cool, uniforms.