Louisville basketball schedule: 3 takeaways as Pat Kelsey's squad eyes ACC title

Louisville emerged from worst to second in the 2024-25 ACC regular season and tournament in Pat Kelsey's first season as Cardinals' coach. Kelsey guided Louisville to an 18-2 record in the ACC regular season, one game behind Duke for the conference title.

The Cardinals were a win away from winning the ACC tournament crown, but the Blue Devils stopped them in the final, 73-62. Kelsey's performance earned him the 2025 ACC Coach of the Year award.

The conference released its 2025-26 schedule and Louisville will play Duke and SMU twice in a home and away format. The Cardinals will host NC State, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Boston College and Syracuse.

Pat Kelsey's team will visit California, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Miami, Clemson, Wake Forest and North Carolina in the ACC regular season and will not play Florida State.

The Cardinals also revealed their partial non-conference schedule and they'll face Kentucky on Nov. 11, Memphis on Dec. 13 and Tennessee on Dec. 16.

Louisville aims to dethrone Duke in the 2025-26 season and based on their surprise showing last year, that dream won't be that far behind. Here are the three key takeaways from the Cardinals' 2025-26 conference schedule:

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Three key takeaways from Louisville's ACC conference schedule in the 2025-26 season

#1 Louisville will play SMU and Duke twice this season

The Louisville Cardinals will play the Duke Blue Devils and the SMU Mustangs twice this regular season. Pat Kelsey's men lost to Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils twice last season, including the ACC tournament final.

On the other hand, the Cardinals beat SMU 98-73 in their lone matchup at the Moody Coliseum.

Duke is 14-9 in its head-to-head against Louisville since Feb. 18, 1979. The Mustangs haven't won against the Cardinals in three games since their head-to-head began on Jan. 12, 2014.

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#2 No Louisville-Florida State encounter in the regular season

The 18-game schedule ACC adopted this season meant that they'll miss one team in their schedule. For Louisville, it's the Florida State Seminoles.

In 55 games against Florida State, the Cardinals have won 37 of them, including two this season. They visited the Seminoles before the Christmas break and won 90-76 and completed the season sweep with an 89-81 win at home on Feb. 22.

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#3 Three of the Cardinals' non-conference rivals revealed

Louisville has unveiled its partial non-conference schedule this season and they are daunting. First, they'll meet Kentucky on Nov. 11. The Wildcats lead the head-to-head series 40-17, with the Mark Pope-coached team winning over the Cardinals in their last meeting 93-85 on Dec. 14, 2024.

Louisville and Memphis will play for the 91st time against each other on Dec. 13 at the KFC Yum! Center. The renewed rivalry will be part of the six-game series between the storied basketball foes.

The Cardinals lead the series, 54-36, including 31-12 at home. The two teams last met in Brooklyn, New York, on Dec. 16, 2017, with the Cards winning 81-72.

Louisville will face SEC team Tennessee on Dec. 16 in Knoxville. It is the 22nd time that both teams have met in the college basketball stage.

The Cardinals are 12-9 in their head-to-head series with the Volunteers, but Tennessee won the last two games, including a 77-55 victory in its last encounter on Nov. 9, 2024.