Louisville basketball's 2025 season can't come soon enough, as the city is buzzing with excitement after the Cardinals' impressive shooting performance against Bucknell. The Cardinals are looking to rewrite recent history this season and end their postseason droughts, as they haven't won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, haven't advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2015, and haven't reached the Final Four or won the championship since 2013.
So, the Cards ended their five-year drought of missing the Big Dance last year, but now the fans are starving for some postseason success. CBS Sports' Matt Norlander released his preseason rankings on Thursday, and he has the Cardinals ranked similarly to the AP voters at No. 12. While Louisville fans are slightly higher on the Cards than Norlander, he is making it known that this team is poised for a deep postseason run.
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Mikel Brown Jr and company could lead Louisville to a deep postseason run
The Cards have a lot of new faces, but the one Norlander made sure to harp on first was the 5-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. Like other CBS analysts is high on not just Brown Jr., but all the additions Kelsey brought in this year, and is incredibly high on the Cardinals despite losing "75% of its production" last year.
"Was it really just a couple of years ago when Louisville had the worst program in high-major basketball and was enduring the nadir of its 100-plus-year existence? How quickly things have changed. Pat Kelsey engineered the biggest turnaround of '24-25, taking Louisville from an eight-win program to going 27-8 and earning a No. 8 seed. This year's team should be even better, even though U of L lost more than 75% of its production.Matt Norlander
The player inspiring the most optimism is Mikel Brown Jr., a slender 6-4 freshman who was outstanding in FIBA World Cup play this summer and figures to be a top-five frosh in the sport. He'll play with, and off of, Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell, a bona fide flamethrower in Kelsey's offense. (Conwell had a 62.4 true shooting percentage last season.) Look for Louisville to be one of the best shooting teams in America: Kelsey brought on Isaac McKneely (42.1 3-pt%) from Virginia and Adrian Wooley (42.2 3-pt%) from Kennesaw State to join up with returnees J'Vonne Hadley and Khani Rooths. There's also reinforcements from Kobe Rodgers and Aly Khalifa, two guys who didn't play last year but will factor into a 10-deep rotation. That Nov. 11 game against Kentucky can't get here fast enough. It's great to be excited about Louisville hoops again."
Norlander makes it clear that the Cardinals should have a much better team this year than last, and the Cards finished second in the ACC, making their first ACC Championship game but falling short to the Duke Blue Devils. The key additions Kelsey brought in received high praise before the season, as Norlander makes it clear that the Cardinals' 3-point shooting is what will set them up for a deep postseason run. This assessment is well supported, as evidenced by the team's 23 made 3-pointers against Bucknell.
Other notable teams ranked ahead of the Cardinals are Duke, which is ranked No. 5 in his rankings, and Kentucky, which is ranked No.3. Louisville and the Blue Devils will play each other twice this upcoming season, but Norlander and the rest of the nation are counting down until that massive matchup with the Wildcats on Nov. 11.
Louisville looks to snap some streaks this upcoming season, and Norlander's rankings set them up perfectly to do so. The Cardinals have the talent, experience, leadership, and depth to make a deep run. Kelsey has elevated this program in just two years, and entering his second season, it is clear that the baseline expectation is to reach the second weekend of the Big Dance.