Louisville basketball fans cannot wait for the start of the 2026-27 season, as the Cardinals are trending toward one of the top teams in many preseason rankings. Louisville is ranked as high as No. 5 in Fox Sports way-too-early rankings, and appears to be a consensus top 15 team in media outlets and college basketball insiders rankings.
Jackson Shelstad sends strong message about Louisville's 5-star transfer Flory Bidunga
However, that might have just changed. One of the more well-known college basketball insiders, Jon Rothstein, released his updated Jon Rothstein's 2026-27 Preseason College Basketball Rankings, and the Cardinals fans immediatley feel disrespected.
Jon Rothstein's latest rankings give Louisville fans a reason to be upset
Louisville has been ranked unanimously in the top 15 leading up to these rankings by Rothstein, but the Cardinals fall outside the top 15 and come in at No. 17. What makes it even worse for Louisville fans to look at these rankings is that the Cardinals have to see the Kentucky Wildcats are one spot ahead of the Cardinals, as Mark Pope’s Wildcats are ranked No. 16.
These two fanbases have been going back and forth all offseason, debating who is better, and while the majority of the unbiased population believes Louisville is better right now, Rothstein is one of the few picking the Cats over the Cards.
The two programs had an eye-popping offseason, adding multiple players from the Transfer Portal, including a 5-star transfer. The two programs rank No. 1 and No. 2 in 247Sports Transfer Portal rankings, and each team is trending as a team that could make some noise this upcoming season.
However, Louisville has the sixth-highest odds to win the National Title at +2200 while Kentucky has the 23rd-highest odds at +4500. And a key reason the Cardinals have the sixth-highest odds and are usually ranked higher than Kentucky is that not only do they have the best-ranked portal class, but they also have a top-18 2026 recruiting class, adding 5-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr. and 4-star small forward Boyuan Zhang.
So, Louisville being ranked as low as No. 17, and on top of that, behind Kentucky, is kind of a head-scratcher for Cardinals fans, but time will tell. These two programs will battle it out on the floor in Rupp Arena in the middle of December, and the winner of that game will get the bragging rights.
For now, Louisville fans aren’t too bothered by Rothstein's rankings, and the reality is the Cardinals have a real chance of making a March run this season. They have frontcourt depth with Flory Bidunga, Ekezie, Alvaro Folgueiras, Gabe Dynes, Zhang, and others, while they also have an experienced backcourt in Jackson Shelstad, Adrian Wooley, and London Johnson.
Louisville and Kentucky are going to be a fun December game, and while the Cardinals are slightly disrespected in these rankings, it will just give them the fuel to prove any doubters wrong.
Also read: Louisville basketball's 4-star Boyuan Zhang continues to turn heads after latest update
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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