Louisville basketball will now have 2 shots at ruining Michael Malone's first UNC season

Louisville basketball has had a dominant offseason so far, as the Cardinals have the No. 1 Transfer Portal class and now the No. 18 2026 recruiting class. The Cardinals are emerging as a real Final Four contender as Fox Sports ranks them as high as No. 5 in the nation, and the Cardinals fans can’t wait for the season to start.

Louisville basketball's Milan Momcilovic dream stays alive after massive NBA Draft update

Now, Louisville fans just learned who their ACC opponents will be and where the game will be played. One glaring thing revealed in the schedule reveal for Louisville is the Cardinals' two opponents, whom they will play both home-and-away. One opponent Louisville will play twice is SMU, and the other is the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Louisville basketball will have two chance at ruining Michael Malone's first UNC season

UNC is known as one of the ACC powerhouses, as the Tar Heels are among the biggest brands in college basketball. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament this past season but were upset in the first round by VCU after blowing a 19-point lead.

With UNC blowing that massive lead and losing in the first round, the Tar Heels ultimately made the decision to fire Hubert Davis and hired NBA champion head coach Michael Malone. Now, Louisville will have a huge chance to welcome Malone into the ACC and play spoiler in his first season with the Tar Heels, as Louisville will get two opportunities, including one home game and one away game.

Right now, Louisville is expected to be a top 15 team in the nation when the season starts, and this team might get even better depending on where Milan Momcilovic commits. As for the Tar Heels, Malone has UNC ranked around the 20 mark, as On3 Sports recently ranked them No. 18 in their way-too-early rankings.

Louisville is going to seek revenge from last year, as the Tar Heels won the game 77-74 after Louisville made a late second-half push. However, this year's team looks like it has the potential to be even better than last year's Cardinals team, and Kelsey will want to not only spoil Malone’s first season, but with Louisville going 1-6 against UNC in the last seven matchups, the Cardinals will be motivated to prove this year is a different team.

UNC isn’t going to be an easy team to beat twice, but the Cardinals are hoping to be one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and getting a chance to beat the Tar Heels twice is a huge opportunity to make that happen.

Also read: Milan Momcilovic Update: Latest news boosts Pat Kelsey's chances of landing 5-star PF

For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.

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