LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Next season’s ACC-SEC Challenge will be pretty spicy for the Louisville basketball program.
According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the Cardinals will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to face the Razorbacks. That’s right — a former nemesis and a former head coach together again on an opposing sideline: longtime Louisville antagonist John Calipari and Kenny Payne, coach for the two longest seasons in Louisville history.
If that doesn’t get you ready for basketball season, not much will.
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Calipari is 19-8 all-time against Louisville — including a 13-3 mark during his 15 seasons at Kentucky. Payne went 12-52 in two seasons at Louisville.
The Cardinals and Razorbacks have split their eight all-time meetings, with Arkansas winning the most recent, 80-54, in the 2022 Maui Invitational — Payne’s fourth game as Louisville head coach.
Pat Kelsey made all that a faint memory in his first season — guiding the Cardinals to a 27-8 record and the NCAA Tournament while winning ACC Coach of the Year.
Louisville’s nonconference schedule is starting to take shape. The Cards will host Kentucky on Nov. 11, Memphis on Dec. 13 and travel to Tennessee on Dec. 16. They’ve also scheduled a home exhibition against Kansas on Oct. 24 at the KFC Yum! Center.
CBS Sports ranks Louisville No. 15 in its early preseason rankings. Arkansas comes in at No. 20.
Other reported ACC-SEC Challenge matchups include North Carolina visiting Kentucky and Duke taking on Florida. Dates and times for all games are still to be announced.
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