Louisville basketball recently moved up a spot in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings as the Cardinals are now ranked No. 12 in the nation. Louisville was No. 13, but St. John’s learned Donnie Freeman will miss the entire upcoming season, dropping the Red Storm from No. 7 all the way to No. 15.
The Cardinals' busy offseason is getting the praise it deserves, as Pat Kelsey has the No. 9 highest odds to win the 2027 National Title and is looking like a lock to be ranked in the top 15 for the preseason rankings. Louisville struggled against ranked opponents last year, going 1-6 against the final top 25 and 0-4 against the top 15.
Now, the Cardinals once again built a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, and ESPN’s updated rankings prove just how loaded this non-conference schedule is going to be for UofL.
Louisville basketball has a thrilling but challenging schedule
While Louisville fans are excited that the Cardinals are ranked No. 12 in ESPN’s updated rankings, they quickly noticed how many of the teams they are scheduled to play are also ranked.
The Cardinals are scheduled to play six teams in the top 25, and seven teams if you include their exhibition game with Kansas. However, when looking more closely at the rankings, Louisville fans will quickly notice that they are scheduled to play four teams ranked in the top 15, three in the top 10, two in the top five, and one in the top two.
This schedule is going to be a gauntlet, and the Cardinals must be better against ranked teams this upcoming season than they were the previous year. The Duke Blue Devils are the top-ranked opponent on Louisville’s schedule, as Duke is ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s rankings. Rounding out the opponents Louisville is scheduled to play in ESPN’s way-too-early top 10 are No. 4 Texas and No. 8 Michigan.
Following Michigan, Louisville is playing No. 14 Virginia, No. 17 Miami, No. 19 Kentucky, and No. 22 Kansas (exhibition). This schedule isn’t for the weak, and Kelsey certainly isn’t ducking smoke. But it doesn’t stop there.
Louisville is playing in the Players Era Championship tournament, and they have Texas Tech in the first round. If they win that game, they could potentially play No. 15 St. John’s in the second round. If Louisville makes it to the semifinals, the Cardinals also have the potential to play No. 6 Tennessee or No. 24 Iowa State. Other notable teams on the other side of the bracket, if Louisville makes it to the finals, include No. 8 Michigan, No. 14 Alabama, No. 17 Miami, and No. 25 Gonzaga.
The good news is that this type of schedule prepares Louisville for March and delivers exciting games for fans. There won’t be many teams as battle-tested as Louisville, and that was Kelsey’s plan.
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