Are Pat Kelsey’s Louisville Cardinals the ACC’s second-best basketball team this season?

Where does Louisville basketball rank in the revised AP Top 25 and the new USA TODAY Coaches Poll?

After a two-week vacation, Louisville basketball returned to the top-25 rankings on Monday.

Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals (20-6, 13-2 ACC) ranked 25th in the new AP Top 25 and 22nd in the newest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

The University of Louisville has won four consecutive double-digit games, three by 15 points or more on the road, including a 75-60 triumph against Notre Dame on Sunday. With that, the Cards secured not only the program’s first 20-win season since 2019-20, but also a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament next month.

What’s Next for Louisville Basketball?

On Sunday, February 16, 2025, at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Notre Dame guard Braeden Shrewsberry (centre) guards Louisville guard J’Vonne Hadley (1) during an NCAA men’s basketball game.

The Cards’ next game is at noon on Saturday against Florida State (15-10, 6-8) at the KFC Yum! Centre. They’ve already beaten the Seminoles once, and their 10-game winning run began on December 21 in Tallahassee.KenPom.com predicts an 88% likelihood of victory and a final score of 81-68 in their favour.

FSU hosts Miami on Wednesday before heading to the 502.

Louisville’s NCAA Tournament resume

On February 16, 2025, during an NCAA men’s basketball game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Louisville guards J’Vonne Hadley (1), Reyne Smith (centre), and Chucky Hepburn (24) celebrate going into a timeout.

U of L started the week ranked 27th in the NET.

As of Monday, the standings were 4-4 in Quad 1 games, 7-2 in Quad 2, 4-0 in Quad 3, and 5-0 in Quad 4 games.

The Cardinals were ranked 24th in Wins Above Bubble (2.89), which measures how much better a club is than teams on the verge of making or missing the NCAA Tournament cut.

Louisville Basketball Bracketology Projections

On February 16, 2025, during an NCAA men’s basketball game at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Notre Dame player Sir Mohammed was fouled by Louisville forward James Scott (0).

As of Monday morning, Louisville was ranked as the top No. 7 seed (7.03) on The Bracket Project’s Matrix.

Here’s who — and where — a few prognosticators believe the Cards will play in March Madness:

USA TODAY: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt in Milwaukee (Midwest area).

CBS Sports: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt in Milwaukee (Midwest Region).

ESPN: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 West Virginia in Cleveland (East Region).

Sports Illustrated: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Nebraska (Midwest Region)

Brooks Holton, a Louisville men’s basketball reporter, may be reached at bholton@gannett.com and followed on X at @brooksHolton.

Pat Kelsey’s magic ignites Louisville basketball’s remarkable journey from ashes to glory

Louisville basketball recently achieved a significant milestone with last night’s victory, and Cardinals supporters are excited to see where this team is headed.

Louisville’s basketball comeback this season has astonished the nation and might become the 2024-2025 news of the year.

Under Kenny Payne’s two years at UofL, the Cardinals went 12-52, including 8-24 last season and 4-28 the year before. Payne was let go by Louisville and replaced by Pat Kelsey, the current head coach.

Pat Kelsey arrived to Louisville with a strong resume, and his name quickly spread throughout Cardinals Nation after bringing in 13 transfers in the winter. Louisville basketball is on track to win 20 games this season, marking the first time since 2020.

Pat Kelsey is doing miracles with Chucky Hepurn and the Cardinals, and the stats and results are showing. Louisville basketball achieved a significant milestone with last night’s triumph, and supporters are optimistic about the program’s future.

Pat Kelsey’s wizardry ignites Louisville basketball’s unprecedented surge.

Louisville’s strong win against North Carolina State last night was the Cardinals’ 12th win, meaning this UofL club has already won more ACC games this season than the previous three seasons combined.

Pat Kelsey has had an instant effect on Louisville’s basketball team, which was last in the ACC last year with an ugly 3-17 record in conference play and 8-24 overall. The Cardinals were even worse the previous year with a 2-18 record in the ACC and 4-28 overall. Their 2021-2022 season was not much better, going 6-14 in the ACC and 13-19 overall, thus this win last night surpassed their total victories in the ACC over the previous three seasons combined.

UofL had gone 11-49 in the previous three seasons, but Pat Kelsey came in and dramatically transformed the program, bringing Louisville basketball to 12-2 in the ACC. The Cardinals are aiming for their most ACC victories since the 2019-2020 season, when they finished 15-5 in the conference and 24-7 overall.

The Cardinals’ 12 wins in the ACC this season tie for the second-most in program history. Louisville only has to win four of their last six games to break the record. Louisville’s final six opponents have a combined ACC record of 35-45. Jay Williams projected Louisville would win out, breaking the program record and finishing 18-2 in the ACC.

This Cardinals club isn’t just winning games; they’re destroying their opponents, having won by a total of 326 points, or 17.7 points per game, and scoring an average of 79 points per game.

Louisville will aim to make history by winning their 13th ACC game on Saturday, Feb. 5 against Notre Dame.