Entering the 2025-26 season, Louisville basketball fans thought this season would be much different. The Cardinals had one of the highest odds to win the National Title and had an even better chance to earn the program's first-ever ACC Title.
The vibes were different in Louisville this fall, and many thought this Louisville program was set to run like it did in 2013, when Russ Smith and Peyton Siva led the Cardinals to their first National Title since 1986. However, that hasn’t been the case at all this season.
Louisville is 14-6 and is 0-5 against quality opponents and is averaging a loss by 16.2 points in those five games. With Louisville’s recent loss to Virginia and now their embarrassing loss to Duke, FOX Sports recently updated its Bracketology bracket, and the Cardinals got what they deserved.
Related: Louisville’s ugly loss to Duke exposes the painful reality for Cardinals fans
Louisville basketball continues to fall in latest Bracketology
Entering the season, Louisville was projected as high as a No. 2 seed, as the Cardinals were ranked No. 11 in the nation. At the time, many Cardinals fans were outraged that Louisville wasn’t in the top 10 and believed the team should have been ranked higher, feeling it was being disrespected.
Well, the Cards' rankings have plummeted since the preseason, as Louisville is now projected as low as a No. 7 seed in FOX Sports' latest Bracketology. Louisville is ranked No. 20 in the nation right now, but after the Cardinals lost by 31 on the road to Duke and dropped its fifth game against a ranked team, it would be shocking if this Cardinals team is unranked next week.
FOX projects the Cardinals facing the No. 10 seed, Texas A&M, in the Midwest region. In order for the Midwest region to rank in this projection, Nebraska (1-seed), Iowa State (2-seed), Houston (3-seed), Vanderbilt (4-seed), Clemson (5-seed), and Alabama (6-seed).
Selection Sunday is just 46 days away, and the Cardinals have only 11 games remaining. If Louisville were to end the season as a 7-seed, it would be reasonable to say the season was quite a disappointment. Louisville has two opponents in its regular season still ranked, as they face North Carolina and Clemson on the road in late February.
The Cardinals' Final Four dreams are fading fast, and Louisville’s disappointing resume against elite teams is summed up by Louisville dropping from being ranked as high as a No. 6 in the nation and a No. 2 seed to being a projected No. 7 seed and potentially unranked for the first time all season.
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.