The Louisville basketball team hasn't been up to their standards in the last few years. Everyone knows that they have won just 12 games combined in the last couple of years. During that time period, the Cardinals won just five conference games and lost 25 of them.
Pat Kelsey is here to change things. Out with the old roster and in with the new roster. It's a completely new roster. All of these guys are here because they have something to prove. The Cardinals as a program have something to prove.
We talked about what kind of expectations the program should have this year. We haven't talked about an exact win total. Looking at the schedule that has been released so far, it's relatively tough. How are they going to manage to get through it and win more games?
How many games will the Louisville basketball team win?
So far, eight opponents have been released for the upcoming season. There is also the Battle 4 Atlantis field, which includes the likes of Arizona, West Virginia, Davidson, Gonzaga, IU, Oklahoma, and Providence. Louisville might only be better than one of those teams.
Of those games and opponents we know, I think the Cardinals can win five of those games. That would be higher than their entire win total a year ago. The entire non-conference schedule still isn't finished either, so they can still have some easy games added.
In the ACC, things will be tough. More teams have been added to the conference though so that should help. SMU isn't a basketball school and neither is Cal. Those are two new opponents that the Cardinals can beat. Louisville's roster should be more talented than both of those programs.
I think the Louisville Cardinals can win 14 games this season. While that might not be enough to win the ACC or make the NCAA Tournament, it's a start toward a rebuild. They can build on that win total next season and the season after that. It's all about positive momentum for Kelsey
There's a shot they could win even more games than that. This team is going to have an underdog mentality the entire year.