Former Louisville fan favorite sends hopeful NCAA Tournament message after Miami loss

Louisville basketball entered the 2025-26 season with much higher expectations than being bounced in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Louisville fell to Miami yesterday, 78-73, after the Cards once again started slowly in the second half and shot just 6-of-24 from downtown.

Louisville basketball fans send loud March Madness message after ACC Tournament exit

Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals will now begin preparing for the NCAA Tournament, as Louisville will tip off in the first round of March Madness one week from today. Louisville’s season hasn’t gone according to plan, and the majority of fans are disappointed and frustrated that the Cardinals are sitting at home on the day of the ACC Tournament semifinals and have a 23-10 record.

With the NCAA Tournament just around the corner, former Louisville basketball fan favorite Reyne Smith went to social media again, and while he admitted it was an ugly game for Louisville yesterday, he also tried to give the Cardinals fans some hope for March Madness.

Reyne Smith believes Louisville basketball can change the narrative

Smith has been pretty vocal on social media for the majority of the season, and yesterday, after the Cards' loss to Miami, the former Cardinal reminded Louisville fans that the season isn’t over just yet.

"Ugly? Yes," Smith stated after Louisville's loss to Miami, "but got one more chance to change the narrative. Excited for the madness, season isn’t over just yet."

The Cardinals are trending toward a 6-seed in the ACC Tournament, and right now, Louisville fans are too confident they will go very far in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville is 0-6 against current ranked teams and 1-8 in Quad 1A games. The vibes around the Cardinals fanbase right now are that if Louisville gets a good draw, they can possibly make it to the second weekend, but many fans are making it clear they think this team is going to either lose first round or in the Round of 32, as their second round matchup would likley be against a No. 3 or No. 2 seed which Louisville’s record against those type of teams isn’t on its favor.

However, Smith remains optimistic, which Louisville fans might need right now. The former Cardinal is one of the biggest supporters this season and even flew over 40 hours to see Louisville play its final regular-season game at KFC Yum! Center.

It is going to be interesting on Sunday and next week, and many are hoping Smith is right and that Louisville changes the narrative when it matters the most.

Related: One lineup change Pat Kelsey must make for Louisville in the NCAA Tournament

For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.