The Louisville Cardinals have had an interesting past two weeks, to say the least, and have been fighting injuries and poor basketball play. After starting 9-1 and being as high as No. 6 in the country, Louisville has fallen to 14-6 and will likely fall out of the AP top 25 poll this weekend.
Louisville basketball has struggled mightily against ranked teams this year, especially on the road. The Cardinals will have a few more chances to prove their worth against good teams on the road in the remaining games against several quad-one opponents.
So, here are the three biggest games remaining Louisville's schedule.
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No. 3: NC State Wolfpack
North Carolina State has been one of the better teams in the ACC over the past month, and while they started a little slow this season, they have turned it up over the past few weeks. The Wolfpack is on the cusp of being ranked in the top 25, while also being inside the top 30 in KenPom as well.
The Wolfpack are currently 15-6 overall and 6-2 in ACC play as they are led by elite transfer Darrion Williams and senior guard Quadir Copeland, who combine for over 28 points per game. Louisville would love to have a decent win against this NC State squad, which would likely be a seed-boosting win in March.
No. 2 Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers have been on a roll in recent weeks, looking pretty unstoppable in the ACC. Clemson has won 10 of its last 11 games, with its only loss to that solid North Carolina State team we just mentioned. Louisville defeated Clemson twice last season and will be looking to extend its win streak over the Tigers in 2026 as well.
Over the last five years, head coach Brad Brownell has shown consistency with the Tigers and will look to continue that the rest of the year, as he currently has them ranked No. 22 in the nation. Louisville has struggled to take on ranked teams on the road in the Pat Kelsey era and will look to break that streak when the Cardinals face them in February. Louisville needs more impressive wins to boost its resume for the NCAA Tournament, and a win on the road over Clemson would certainly do just that.
No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina was off to a hot start in the first month of the season, but after losing to Stanford, SMU, and Cal to start January, they took a tumble. However, after the Tar Heels got back in the win column against a Virginia team that had already beaten Louisville.
Louisville will travel to take on the 16th-ranked Tar Heels in late February, a huge matchup in the ACC. UNC has marquee wins over Kansas, Kentucky, and Virginia this year, and beating Louisville would only add to its resume. Louisville will need to get a win in Chapel Hill to boost its resume going into March, and a win over UNC would help lower the temperature that fans have been getting upset about Pat Kelsey’s record against ranked teams on the road in his tenure at Louisville.
Louisville will have its hands full in all of these games this season and will need everything it can to beat these three teams. Louisville did beat all three teams last season, so they know how to take down these squads. But Pat Kelsey and Louisville must have a big February, and that's all determined by how they play NC State, Clemson, and UNC.