Louisville basketball dropped in the AP Poll after last week's embarrassing loss to the Duke Blue Devils. Louisville lost last week by 31, the Cardinals' largest loss since 2023, but on the bright side, Louisville was able to find a way to stay in the rankings due to its 14-point win over SMU.
Louisville is now ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll, with other notable teams including Duke at No. 4, North Carolina at No. 14, and Clemson at No. 20.
The Cardinals went 1-1 last week, and while many were quite disappointed and outraged after Louisville’s 31-point loss on Monday, Pat Kelsey regrouped his squad and led them to a big ACC win over the Mustangs. Louisville is now 15-6 with just 10 games remaining, and with the ACC race tightening the Cardinals don't have much room for error.
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AP Polls reveal Louisville is forced to make a ACC run in final stretch
Louisville enters this week ranked No. XX, which ranks them fourth in the ACC. The Cardinals have to start making a run for the double-bye for the ACC Tournament, and that has to start now. Louisville is favored in every game according to ESPN's Matchup Predictor, and the Cards' next few games are crucial to take care of business and climb up the standings.
Louisville is playing Notre Dame on Feb. 4 and Wake Forest on Feb. 7, giving the Cardinals one of their easiest weeks of the season. The Irish and the Demon Deacons each have a 2-7 ACC record and an 11-1 record.
The Cardinals currently sit in seventh place in the ACC, two games behind third- and fourth-place Virginia and North Carolina State. The Cardinals will place the Wolfpacks at home on Feb. 9, making that one of the Cardinals' biggest remaining games.
The Cardinals have just 10 games remaining and in these 10 games they will play four of the five teams standing infront of them and the No. 2 seed. The downside is three of those four games are on the road including back-to-back road games against No. XX North Carolina and No. XX Clemson.
So, the AP Poll is sending a clear message that this team still is on one of the best teams in the ACC, and the Cards staying in the AP Polls is a good sign that the AP voters respect the Cardinals and their gritty win on Saturday. But the time is ticking and Kelsey has to get this group to rattle off a nice win streak here in the final stretch if they want to make a run towards the double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.