Louisville basketball's 2025-26 schedule is expected to be extremely thrilling and exciting for all college basketball fans, especially those in Louisville. The Cardinals have added some elite competition to their schedule, as they are set to face some of the best teams in the SEC and renew two of the program's oldest rivalries.
Louisville's seven announced opponents include Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Memphis, Indiana, and Ohio. Looking at these seven opponents, this out-of-conference schedule is both thrilling and challenging.
Well, the good news for the Cardinlas fans is that they have just added two more opponents, and while it might not be the most thrilling matchups, they are two matchups the fans can already mark down as wins.
Related: Louisville basketball's most important game isn't against Arkansas or Tennessee
Louisville basketball just added two key games to an already loaded 2025-26 schedule
The Cardinals have officially added Eastern Michigan and NJIT in their 2025-26 schedule, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman. The dates for both matchups have yet to be announced, but he stated that it will be part of an MTE (multiple-team event) with their already announced matchup against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
2025 Louisville / Cincinnati Home MTE, source told @TheFieldOf68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 23, 2025
Louisville
Cincinnati
Eastern Michigan
NJIT
Louisville - Cincinnati play on Nov. 21 in Cincinnati at Heritage Bank Arena. Return the following year to Freedom Hall.
While this isn't a matchup with Florida or BYU, it is the exact matchup Louisville needed on their schedule. The Cardinals' seven opponents before this announcement are six thrilling games that are already hard to mark as wins.
Louisville's schedule needed a couple of opponents that the fans are confident they can mark down as wins, and that is exactly what they got with Eastern Michigan and NJIT. While Louisville will be big favorites against Memphis and Cincinnati, rivalry games are always hard to win, and Louisville will be circled on both programs' schedules.
The Cardinals had to add some opponents that they could label as creampuffs, and could be used to boost the team's chemistry and confidence.
Pat Kelsey will likely be able to dominate both teams next year, as both programs have low expectations for the upcoming season. Eastern Michigan had a 16-16 record and was eliminated in the first round of the MAC Tournament, while NJIT had an even worse record, at 6-25, and didn't qualify for the America East Tournament.
The Cardinals have the tenth-best odds to win the 2026 National Title and the second-best odds to win the ACC. Louisville is predicted to have a deep March Madness run, with expectations of playing in early April. If the Cardinals want to make that happen, it is crucial to have a solid record heading into ACC play, and adding these two cupcake opponents to their stacked out-of-conference schedule was much-needed.
Related: Cardinals fans are drooling over Louisville basketball's 2026 National Title odds
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.