LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 11 Cardinals face high expectations, thanks in large part to what coach Pat Kelsey did in his debut season.

What You Need To Know

No. 11 Louisville Men’s Basketball faces high expectations after coach Pat Kelsey’s impressive debut season

Louisville won 19 more games with Kelsey for the largest turnaround in program history to lead the nation in win differential

Kelsey was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year for his third such honor in a different Division I league

Kelsey faces a new challenge this season with only one starter back and five Cardinals who have played before at Louisville

Louisville finished 27-8 overall and 18-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in 2024-25. They won 19 more games with Kelsey after going 8-24 (3-17 ACC) in 2023-24 under former head coach Kenny Payne, which was the largest turnaround in program history.

Kelsey earned the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year award thanks to his success, his third such honor each in a different Division I league. He faces a new challenge this season with only one starter back and five Cardinals who’ve played before at Louisville.

Players to watch

Senior guard Ryan Conwell averaged 16.5 points a game at Xavier. He’s also a career 39.3% shooter from 3-point range, and the preseason All-ACC first team guard has started 93 of 104 games in a career that started at South Florida with a stop at Indiana State.

Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. is the other preseason All-ACC pick. He won gold with USA Basketball’s U-19 national team this summer and also won the 3-point contest at the McDonald’s All-American game.

Departures and arrivals

Center James Scott, who started 31 of 35 games, now is at Ole Miss along with Koren Johnson. Kelsey added senior guard Isaac McKneely from Virginia, a 42.2% shooter outside the arc. Sophomore guard Adrian Wooley transferred from Kennesaw State is part of a portal class rated third nationally by 247Sports.

Top games

The annual game with No. 9 Kentucky is much earlier, on Nov. 11. The Cards visit Arkansas Dec. 3 and play Indiana in Indianapolis Dec. 6. Memphis visits Dec. 13, and Louisville goes to No. 18 Tennessee Dec. 16. ACC play starts Dec. 30 at California. Sixth-ranked Duke visits Jan. 6 with a return trip Jan. 26. The Cards play No. 25 North Carolina only once on the road Feb. 23 as part of three of the final four away from home.

Facts and figures

This is the 664th time the Cardinals have been ranked in the AP Top 25, which ranks sixth-most all-time
Louisville has only 22.9% of its scoring, 31.2% of rebounding and 25.7% of minutes played back from last season
Louisville has 10 newcomers on this roster
Redshirt senior center Aly Khalifa and redshirt senior guard Kobe Rodgers are back after missing last season with knee injuries
The Cards lost their NCAA Tournament opener to Creighton

The Cardinals face Bucknell Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in their second and final preseason game. The regular season begins Monday, Nov. 3 versus South Carolina State at the KFC Yum! Center; tipoff is 9 p.m.