Louisville basketball secured a spot in its second straight NCAA Tournament as the Cardinals are the No. 6 seed in the East region and will face the 11-seed USF Bulls. USF is one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 11 straight, including the American Conference Tournament, and 14 of its last 15.
5 immediate observations from Louisville basketball's 2026 NCAA Tournament draw
With the Bulls winning that many games, the players and coaches certainly are high on confidence heading into the NCAA Tournament, despite being the underdog in every metric. USF leading scorer Wes Enis spoke with the media, and Pat Kelsey should play this clip in front of his team to get them fired up and go out on Thursday and make a statement in front of everyone.
Wes Enis' bold claim should fire up the Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals are becoming the trending pick among national media and fans, with many predicting they will be upset in the first round. Louisville is still unsure about the status of star guard Mikel Brown Jr., and apparently, that means Enis is giving Kelsey bulletin board material to get his team ready for Thursday.
"Yeah, I don't think it's an upset," Enis stated on Monday. "I think we're the better team. I don't really care what 11-6 says. I think we're the better team, so I wouldn't really call it an upset."
There is nothing wrong with having confidence in yourself and your team, but Enis certainly is giving the Cardinals a bit of extra motivation with this quote. The Cardinals are 5.5-point favorites, given an 81 percent chance of winning, and well, it would be an upset.
This is the quote Kelsey needs to show his team and light a fire under them. The Cardinals have been getting disrespected all week, with Bruce Pearl immediately picking USF on Selection Sunday, Jay Bilas picking the Bulls yesterday, and now the star guard on USF is just giving Kelsey bulletin board material to prove why Louisville is simply the better team.
So, with Thursday’s tip-off just a couple of days away, Louisville fans will have an eye on Enis, who averages 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. He has made 107 3’s on the season so far, and is somebody who will likely be matched up with Adrian Wooley.
Kelsey just got some gold to use against USF, and when Thursday comes around, the Cardinals will look to show the 11-seed Bulls what Louisville basketball is all about and who is the better team. But for now, the Cardinals fans will let USF do all the talking, and on Thursday, everyone will see who the better team really is.
Related: Pat Kelsey gives latest injury update on Mikel Brown Jr. before the NCAA Tournament
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.
