Louisville basketball is coming off its first loss of the 2025-26 season as the Cardinals' comeback fell short to Arkansas, 89-80. The Cardinals are a team that lives and dies by the 3-ball, and on Wednesday night, they shot just 22 percent from the 3-point line, going 8-of-37.
Arkansas is coached by a familiar face to the Louisville program, as John Calipari leads the Razorbacks. Coach Cal was, of course, the Kentucky Wildcats for many years, where he went head-to-head against Louisville 16 times. The former Kentucky coach and current Arkansas coach was asked after the game if this game had any extra meaning to him, and Coach Cal, of course, said no, but also gave high praise to the Louisville program, specifically Pat Kelsey.
John Calipari gives Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball high praise
The Cardinals have an 8-20 record against the Hall of Fame coach, including a 3-13 record when he was at Kentucky. The Cardinals and Wildcats, of course, have a heated rivalry, one he was part of for 15 seasons. Calipari was asked after the game about Louisville and the program, and he had nothing but positive things to say about the program Kelsey is building.
"I love the program there," Calipari stated on Louisville. "Kelse (Kelsey) got it going now. Recruiting and the image of what he is doing and how he is playing. Kelse got it going."
While some Louisville fans may not like Calipari because he is an old rival, hearing one of the best coaches in college basketball praise Kelsey speaks volumes. Kelsey is in his second season with the Cardinals and has quickly flipped this program around.
Calipari mentioned recruiting: in his first season with Louisville, he landed Mikel Brown Jr., the second-highest commit in program history, and followed that up by landing three top-25 players in the Transfer Portal. And while the class of 2026 isn't going the way fans would hope, Louisville is relevant and fighting for elite 5-stars. Kelsey has this program back to the top, and for recruiting, he is making this one of the top landing spots in the nation.
Kelsey has this program ranked No. 6 in the nation and coming off a historic season. He, of course, is leading the "ReviVille", but now he has this program in contention for a National Championship. Last year, Louisville came up short of the ACC crown, going 18-2 in the conference and losing in the ACC Tournament Championship to Duke. This year, Kelsey has the program contending not only for its first-ever ACC Title but also for its first National Title since 2013.