The Louisville Cardinals have had an up-and-down season in 2026 under Pat Kelsey in year two, but are looking to make a serious push towards the NCAA tournament as the ACC tournament starts today. Louisville will start its ACC tournament play against either 14-seed Syracuse or 11-seed SMU on Wednesday.
In-depth analysis of Louisville basketball's potential 2026 ACC Tournament opponents
The Louisville fanbase and local media have been urging Kelsey to make some adjustments all season, instead of sticking with his usual game plan, and in the past week or so, it has seemed like Kelsey has finally opened up to doing so. Vangelis Zougris has started the past two games for Louisville, and while he has not yet had the most center minutes in those two games, Kelsey admits Zougris is starting due to "toughness in practice". Which is a change Kelsey has not made for most of his time at Louisville.
So, all that said here are three crucial moves Pat Kelsey must make heading into the ACC tournament: