The preseason AP Poll for the men’s college basketball season was released on Monday and Louisville checked in at No. 11. This is the second consecutive year the Cards will start the season with that ranking. The last time Louisville was ranked higher in the preseason poll, they were tabbed No. 5 leading into the 2019-2020 campaign.
The Full AP Top 25 including Louisville’s matchups against each team.
- Florida
2. Duke - Wednesday Feb. 24, 7 pm - KFC Yum! Center
3. Illinois
4. UConn
5. Arizona
6. Michigan State
7. Texas - Tuesday Dec. 1, 9 pm – KFC Yum! Center
8. Tennessee
9. Virginia - Monday Feb. 15, 7 pm – John Paul Jones Arena
10. Houston
11. Louisville
12. Arkansas
13. St. John's - (possible matchup in Players Era 16 on Thanksgiving Day)
14. Miami - Tuesday Jan. 19, 7 pm – KFC Yum! Center
15. Gonzaga
16. Michigan - Saturday Dec. 5, noon – Little Caesars Arena (Detroit)
17. Kansas - Wednesday Oct. 21, 7 pm – Phog Allen Fieldhouse
18. Iowa State
19. Texas Tech - Tuesday Nov. 24, 8 pm – Michelob Ultra Arena (Las Vegas)
20. Alabama
21. USC
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky - Saturday Dec. 12, 4 pm – Rupp Arena
24. Vanderbilt
25. BYU
Some quick notes on the poll:
Four ACC teams in the Top 15. For the last few seasons, the storyline around the ACC has been, “The conference is Duke and a list of teams.” In the last five years most teams towards the top of the conference have had a significant coaching change to revamp their program in the changing landscape of college athletics.
8 of the 16 teams that are in the Players Era 16 Tournament Field are preseason ranked. Louisville is guaranteed to play No. 19 Texas Tech in their first game and could face former coach Rick Pitino and No. 13 St John’s in the second game on Thursday, Nov. 26. There is also a decent chance that Louisville could play a third ranked team from the top half of the bracket in their game on Friday, Nov. 27. If the Cards win their first three games out there, they will play in a championship game on Saturday, Nov. 28.
The Battle for the Bluegrass will feature two pre-season ranked teams. Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope are both entering the 2026-2027 with lofty expectations to uphold the traditional standard of their respective programs. Pope has three NCAA Tournament wins under his belt; Kelsey has one. Each fanbase yearns for more and banners to be unveiled in their arena. Louisville has not won in Lexington since the 2007-2008 season.
Wednesday night’s exhibition at Kansas will be a great measuring stick going into the season. With Flory Bidunga, a top player in the portal making a return trip to the school he transferred from, things could get a little dramatic in Lawrence. Add in Kansas being headlined by top prospect and Louisville native Tyran Stokes, there could be fireworks for a game that does not even count towards their record.
Can Louisville take the next step against Duke? Coach Pat Kelsey has not defeated the Blue Devils in his time at Louisville (0-4) but won the ACC Coach of the Year honors over Jon Scheyer his first year. The Cards host the Blue Devils in February this season and have jumped out to the lead in the home game against Scheyer’s squad in each of the last two seasons. Can Louisville get over the hump against Duke this season?
The powers that be saw another great matchup opportunity when they tabbed Louisville against Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge. If you recall Texas coach Archie Miller was at Arizona and also named in the 2017 FBI Scandal that rocked college hoops and the Louisville program. A 9 pm tip in the Yum! Center against the No. 7 Longhorns? Yes, please!
The Ville travels to Detroit to face the defending national champion, Michigan Wolverines. Dusty May departed during the offseason for the Dallas Mavericks, so Mike Boynton Jr. was promoted to head coach. These two programs also met in the 2013 NCAA Championship game with Louisville winning 82-76.
The No. 11 Cards will start the regular season against the Chattanooga Mocs from the SoCon on November 2 @ 9 pm in the KFC Yum! Center.
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