Cardinals Return to the Court Against Kansas

Mark BlankenbakerOctober 24, 2025

Louisville men’s basketball will suit up in uniform for the very first time on Friday evening in a top-20 exhibition matchup against Kansas. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network at 7:30 p.m.

The Cardinals are coming off an impressive 27-8 season, the first under head coach Pat Kelsey. The Jayhawks finished the 2024-25 season at 21-13. Both teams are ranked in the AP Preseason Poll; Louisville is No. 11 while Kansas is No. 19.

Kansas leads the all-time record 6-5 between the two programs. The last time the teams faced off in a regular season contest was Jan. 16, 1993 – Louisville lost to the Jayhawks 98-77 at home.

CARDINAL NOTES

Louisville returns just a single starter and five Cardinals who have suited up in the Red and Black before. Overall, UofL returns 22.9% of its scoring (628 of 2,747 points), 31.2% of its rebounding (407 of 1,305), 18.3% of its assists (89 of 486) and 25.7% of its minutes (1,807 of 7,025) from the 2024-25 season.
Louisville improved from eight wins in 2023-24 to 25 wins in 2024-25, the largest turnaround in program history, improving by 19 wins – it led the nation in win differential.
Head coach Pat Kelsey is the reigning ACC Coach of the Year – he is one of 10 active DI head coaches that have earned a Coach of the Year honor in three or more DI conferences.
Louisville landed two Cards on the ACC Preseason First Team. Both senior guard Ryan Conwell and freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., earned the nod from the league. Louisville as a program was picked second in the league.
There are 14 players returning to DI this season that have made at least 175 3-pointers with a career 3-point field goal percentage of 38% or more; Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely are two of those 14. See more on Page 6.
The Cardinals were ranked No. 11 in the country in the Preseason AP Poll released on Oct. 13. It was the first time Louisville was ranked in the preseason poll since being No. 5 at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. That team went on to be ranked No. 1 for two weeks and finished the COVID-shortened year at No. 14.
Currently, six of Louisville’s 2025-26 opponents were ranked in the AP Preseason Poll, with four more receiving votes.
Louisville has 10 newcomers on the 2025-26 roster, making Friday’s exhibition the first opportunity to see them in a Cardinal uniform. Among those 10 are redshirt seniors Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers who redshirted the entire 2024-25 season due to injury.
Louisville is 27-0 under Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.