- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 426,230
- Reaction score
- 43
Louisville basketball's 2024-25 season ended on a disappointing note, but Pat Kelsey's Cardinals still finished the campaign as a consensus top-25 team.
After it's lopsided loss to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, U of L (27-8) fell from 10th to 21st in the final AP Top 25 and from 11th to 21st in the final USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
This is the first time since 2019-20 that Louisville has finished the season ranked. And it comes after back-to-back campaigns spent in the basement of the NET: 314th in 2022-23 and 216th in 2023-24.
The Cards were one of the ACC's three representatives in the final top-25 polls — joining Duke and Clemson.
National champion Florida took home the top spot, followed by runner-up Houston.
Now, it's full steam ahead into 2025-26. U of L's outlook is promising.
"We're excited about what we have coming back," Kelsey said after losing to the Bluejays in March Madness. "We'll do a great job in recruiting, and in the transfer portal, and put a great team together that's going to compete for a championship. I have all the confidence in the world that that is going to happen."
Here's a look at where the Cards stood in the initial crop of way-too-early top 25s and 2026 national title odds:
The following players from Louisville's 2024-25 roster are in line to return, if they don't hit the portal before it closes April 22: J'Vonne Hadley, Aly Khalifa, Kasean Pryor, Kobe Rodgers, Khani Rooths and James Scott.
Joining them are five newcomers, McDonald's All-American point guard Mikel Brown Jr., 21-year-old German big man Sananda Fru and transfer guards Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKneely (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State).
Together, Kelsey has a group that was as high as No. 3 in ESPN and FOX Sports' earliest 2025-26 projections.
The Cards also ranked fifth in the eyes of On3 and Sports Illustrated. Over at 247Sports, they were 11th.
U of L's nonconference schedule is far from finalized, but we know it will host the annual showdown against archrival Kentucky (date TBD) at the KFC Yum! Center and make a road trip to Tennessee for a Dec. 16 game against the Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
At the Final Four in San Antonio, former Louisville/current St. John's coach Rick Pitino told reporters that negotiations were underway for a home-and-home series between the Cards and the Red Storm; starting with a game at Madison Square Garden early in the 2025-26 slate.
Louisville as of Monday afternoon was tied with Purdue for the third-best national championship odds in 2025-26 on both BetOnline.ag and FanDuel: +1,400 (14 to 1).
Duke (+1,000) and Houston (+1,200) were the only teams ahead of the Cards and Boilermakers.
DraftKings wasn't as bullish on U of L's chances. As of Monday afternoon, Kelsey's team was +2,200 (22 to 1) to cut down the net next year in Indianapolis, trailing nine others — including Mark Pope's Wildcats at +2,000.
Expect these odds to change, because there are plenty of moves still to be made in the transfer market. But it's safe to say that expectations for Year 2 of the Kelsey era will be sky high.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, 2026 future title odds
Continue reading...
After it's lopsided loss to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, U of L (27-8) fell from 10th to 21st in the final AP Top 25 and from 11th to 21st in the final USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
This is the first time since 2019-20 that Louisville has finished the season ranked. And it comes after back-to-back campaigns spent in the basement of the NET: 314th in 2022-23 and 216th in 2023-24.
The Cards were one of the ACC's three representatives in the final top-25 polls — joining Duke and Clemson.
National champion Florida took home the top spot, followed by runner-up Houston.
Now, it's full steam ahead into 2025-26. U of L's outlook is promising.
"We're excited about what we have coming back," Kelsey said after losing to the Bluejays in March Madness. "We'll do a great job in recruiting, and in the transfer portal, and put a great team together that's going to compete for a championship. I have all the confidence in the world that that is going to happen."
Here's a look at where the Cards stood in the initial crop of way-too-early top 25s and 2026 national title odds:
Louisville basketball in way-too-early top 25s for Year 2 under Pat Kelsey
You must be registered for see images
The following players from Louisville's 2024-25 roster are in line to return, if they don't hit the portal before it closes April 22: J'Vonne Hadley, Aly Khalifa, Kasean Pryor, Kobe Rodgers, Khani Rooths and James Scott.
Joining them are five newcomers, McDonald's All-American point guard Mikel Brown Jr., 21-year-old German big man Sananda Fru and transfer guards Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKneely (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State).
Together, Kelsey has a group that was as high as No. 3 in ESPN and FOX Sports' earliest 2025-26 projections.
The Cards also ranked fifth in the eyes of On3 and Sports Illustrated. Over at 247Sports, they were 11th.
U of L's nonconference schedule is far from finalized, but we know it will host the annual showdown against archrival Kentucky (date TBD) at the KFC Yum! Center and make a road trip to Tennessee for a Dec. 16 game against the Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
At the Final Four in San Antonio, former Louisville/current St. John's coach Rick Pitino told reporters that negotiations were underway for a home-and-home series between the Cards and the Red Storm; starting with a game at Madison Square Garden early in the 2025-26 slate.
College basketball future odds: Louisville among early favorites for 2026 national championship
You must be registered for see images attach
Louisville as of Monday afternoon was tied with Purdue for the third-best national championship odds in 2025-26 on both BetOnline.ag and FanDuel: +1,400 (14 to 1).
Duke (+1,000) and Houston (+1,200) were the only teams ahead of the Cards and Boilermakers.
DraftKings wasn't as bullish on U of L's chances. As of Monday afternoon, Kelsey's team was +2,200 (22 to 1) to cut down the net next year in Indianapolis, trailing nine others — including Mark Pope's Wildcats at +2,000.
Expect these odds to change, because there are plenty of moves still to be made in the transfer market. But it's safe to say that expectations for Year 2 of the Kelsey era will be sky high.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, 2026 future title odds
Continue reading...
