Louisville basketball's 2025-26 regular season is under a week away as the Cardinals will take on South Carolina State on Nov. 3 from KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals enter this upcoming season with high expectations and are expected to have one of the best seasons in a long time. Louisville hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2017, and the Cardinals' fans are starving for some postseason energy.
Last year, Louisville returned to the Big Dance for the first time since 2019, but fell short to Creighton in the first round. Now, they enter the 2025-26 season with the 10th-best odds to win the 2026 National Title, making it feel like this team should end this drought.
While it is the end of October, bracketology is year-round, and ESPN's Joe Lunardi is known as one of the best at predicting the NCAA Tournament. He recently updated his prediction, and Louisville fans quickly see the Cardinals would be lined up for some sweet revenge in the round of 32.
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Louisville seeks Big 12 revenge in Joe Lunardi’s prediction
Louisville made its debut against Kansas in a long-awaited preseason showdown. The Cards and the Jayhawks are expected to be among the nation's top teams this year, led by elite 5-star guards. Darryn Peterson was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting class and dominated the Cardinals last Friday night. He finished with 26 points on 60 percent shooting in just 25 minutes. The Jayhawks defeated Louisville 90-82, but the fans who watched the whole game know Kansas won this one pretty handily.
Well, in Lunardi's latest forecast, the Cardinals fans are happy to see they are hunting for some sweet revenge against the Jayhawks, as the two programs would most likely meet in the second round. Lunardi predicts Louisville as a No. 3 seed, facing UNC Wilmington, and Kansas as a No. 6 seed, facing Marquette or Washington.
If both avoid an upset in this forecast, the two would meet again in the second round of March Madness in a massive revenge game for the Cardinals. Louisville made it clear after their loss that it was a learning experience, and they are excited to show the nation how good this team really is. Louisville had a letdown performance in the exhibition game, and a matchup against the Jayhawks would be a blockbuster matchup in the round of 32.
The Cards and Jayhawks have only played once in the NCAA Tournament, back in 1967 when Kansas won 70-68. If these two were to meet up in the postseason, Mikel Brown Jr. would love to play a redemption game against Peterson and prove why he is also a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
It would be a thrilling rematch in the second round if this happens, but, of course, it is an absolute long shot that it actually does. However, if it does happen, Louisville would love to get its revenge on Bill Self and the Jayhawks and win the game that truly matters.
Related: 5 important questions for Louisville basketball's exhibition game against Bucknell
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season, stay tuned.