Louisville basketball just wrapped up a rollercoaster of a week - one that showed both the low end of its potential and the grit that could carry this team through the heart of ACC play.
Let’s start with the bad: an 83-52 beatdown at the hands of Duke. That loss wasn’t just a stumble - it was the most lopsided defeat of the Pat Kelsey era so far.
Against a Blue Devils team that’s hitting its stride, Louisville looked outmatched from the jump, unable to keep pace on either end of the floor. It was the kind of performance that could rattle a team’s confidence.
But here’s the thing - it didn’t.
Just days later, the Cardinals bounced back in a big way, storming back from a 12-point deficit to take down SMU 88-74 at the KFC Yum! Center.
That win wasn’t just about the scoreboard - it was about resilience. Louisville didn’t flinch after the Duke loss.
They regrouped, refocused, and responded with one of their more complete efforts of the season.
“They responded exactly how I thought they would - didn’t blink, didn’t panic, nothing,” Kelsey said after the win. “Just went back to work.” That’s the kind of mentality that separates teams in February.
Now sitting at 15-6 overall and 5-4 in ACC play, Louisville enters the final 10 games of the regular season ranked 23rd in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and 24th in the AP Top 25. That’s a slight drop from last week’s No. 20 spot in both polls, but given the Duke loss, it’s hardly surprising. Their 15 wins are tied for the fewest among ranked teams, which speaks to how tight the margins are right now across the country.
The polls continue to be topped by Arizona, Michigan, and UConn, with Duke holding steady at No. 4 in both rankings. The ACC, as a whole, is showing its depth - five teams are ranked in each poll this week, including Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, and Louisville. That kind of representation matters come Selection Sunday.
Louisville also checks in at No. 17 in the latest NET rankings - good for second-best in the ACC. That’s a strong spot to be in with March looming, especially considering that 12 of the league’s 18 teams are currently in the NET top 75. The strength of schedule is there, and the opportunities to climb are still ahead.
Next up for the Cardinals: a Wednesday night matchup at home against Notre Dame. On paper, it’s a game Louisville should win - the Irish are 11-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play, having dropped eight of their last 10.
But this is still ACC basketball, and nothing comes easy. It’s also one of just two remaining Quad 3 games on Louisville’s schedule, which makes it a must-win from a résumé standpoint.
After that, the Cards hit the road for a Saturday noon tip at Wake Forest - another team sitting at 11-11 and 2-7 in the ACC. Like Notre Dame, the Demon Deacons have struggled to find consistency, but they’ve also shown flashes of competitiveness that could make things tricky if Louisville isn’t locked in.
With 10 games left, the margin for error is shrinking. But if the Cardinals can bottle the fight they showed against SMU - and learn from what went wrong at Duke - they’ve still got a path to a strong finish. The polls might have dipped slightly, but the opportunity to rise is very much alive.