Louisville basketball has high expectations for this year as they start the season as the No.11 team in the land. With the amount of hype surrounding the team and the key additions they made in the offseason, people are interested in the Cardinals and believe this could be the year Louisville makes a run.
The Cards enter the year with the second-best odds to win the ACC and the 10th-best odds to win their first National Title since 2013. This team showed how lethal it can be from beyond the arc in its dominant win over Bucknell, but now the group has to buy in defensively and on the glass if it wants to make a run to the Final Four and reach its full potential.
One college basketball legend who has expressed interest in the Cardinals is former Detroit Pistons head coach and now sports analyst and broadcaster, Dick Vitale. Vitale spoke very highly of this Louisville squad and even made some bold predictions about how its season would end.
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Dick Vitale's thoughts on Louisville basketball entering 2025-26 season
Vitale praised the shape the Cardinals’ roster is in with the offseason additions of Sanada Fru, Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, and Mikel Brown Jr. These players, along with returning player J’Vonne Hadley, are set to leave their mark on the season. Vitale also had individual praise for Brown Jr.
“Over at Louisville, Pat Kelsey brought in a five-star recruit and potential NBA Lottery pick in Mikel Brown Jr., who made a gold medal run with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup,” Vitale stated. “He’s a lightning-quick point guard with one of the smoothest jumpers in the game.”
The high praise from Vitale was capped off by his saying he believes the Cardinals could make it to the Final Four, and possibly even the championship. Vitale also has an idea of who might face them there.
It isn’t just the Cardinals that Vitale has his eyes on, but a foe out of the SEC in the Kentucky Wildcats as well. Kentucky starts this year as the No. 9 team in the nation, having acquired its fair share of talent from the portal.
“Both teams are Final Four contenders, and if the bracket gods smile, they might meet again in March Madness,” he stated.
The flare of this rivalry reached an all-time high as it was reported that both coaches got into a shouting match outside recruit Taylen Kinney’s house this summer, which should make the matchup between these teams on Nov. 11 even more fun.
Nobody knows exactly how the season will go, but if Vitale is right, this will be the Cardinals' first trip to the Final Four since 2013. The Cards have high expectations, and they will be battle-tested as this non-conference schedule is no joke. And who will be their first test of the season? The Kentucky Wildcats. The college basketball season is here, and one of the most thrilling rivalry games is quickly approaching us.
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.