Louisville basketball fans learned on Thursday that the Cardinals added another massive non-conference game, as the Cards will face the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 5 at a neutral site. The Cardinals are looking to make a statement this upcoming season and hope to have a better record against ranked opponents than they did last year.
Louisville has had a busy offseason, landing nine commitments, including six from the Transfer Portal and three from the 2026 recruiting class. The Cards had the No. 1 overall portal class, No. 18 2026 recruiting class, and the No. 5 overall class when combining the portal and the 2026 class.
With an offseason like that, the Cardinals fans eye a Final Four run, and it isn’t just Louisville fans who think it can happen; many basketball insiders and outlets are in on the Cardinals.
Louisville basketball earns major Final Four praise
Fox Sports Aaron Torres made it clear earlier this week that for Louisville to be a true Final Four contender, he believes 4-star Arkansas transfer Karter Knox has to take that leap and play like he did his freshman season in the NCAA Tournament. Then the Field of 68’s Rob Dauster stated that, for Louisville to be a true Final Four contender, the 'Cardinals' 5-star transfer Flory Bidunga has to be an All-American and average 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Well, Sleepers Media is joining the mix now, as the Cardinals get a lot of praise from the college sports fan page, which believes Louisville is already a Final Four contender and ranks them among the top contenders.
Final Four Tier-List: @thatboydhill dropped his top 12 contenders to make the final four right now based on three tiers. Did Deion leave anyone out? pic.twitter.com/zPlNcLYZ6U
— Sleepers Media 💤🏀 (@SleepersMedia) July 31, 2026
As of right now, Louisville is a unanimous top-15 team in the nation in media outlets' preseason rankings. ESPN has the Cardinals ranked No. 13, but some outlets are higher on Louisville, such as Sleepers Media, which ranks the Cardinals No. 8.
In this post, the Cardinals are the last of the Tier 1 group of Final Four contenders, with Duke first, followed by Illinois and Texas. In the second tier are Tennessee, Arkansas, Michigan State, and UConn, while the third tier includes Michigan, USC, Florida, and St. John’s.
The Cardinals fans are starving for a Final Four run, as Louisville hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8 since 2014-15, when they lost to Michigan State in overtime in the Elite 8, and the Cardinals haven’t been to the Final Four since 2013, when they won the National Championship. So, this fanbase is ready to watch their Cardinals make a deep postseason run, and Sleeper Media and many Cardinals fans truly believe this is the year Kelsey gets it done.
Add us as a preferred source on Google