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Louisville basketball on its longest winning streak in five years just two months later Pat Kelseyfirst season as head coach, is back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since January 25, 2021.
The Cardinals (14-5, 7-1) were 25th in the poll released Monday, joining No. 2 Duke as the ACC’s sole representatives. This comes less than a year after the end of the disastrous Kenny Payne era, in which they went 12-52.
In the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches PollU of L placed 26th with 43 votes.
Last week, Louisville ranked 30th in the AP Top 25 with 17 votes and 36th in the coaches poll with three votes. While securing wins Nos. 7 and 8 in a row, he also benefited from defeating 20 ranked teams at least once in the past seven days.
“Things like that, whether it’s a winning streak or a ranking, are good for a lot of things: our brand, our fan base, recruiting,” Kelsey said Monday. “I’m very, very aware (of) and I appreciate what comes with a certain amount of success. The winning streak – whatever it is, how many games – it’s all in the past. Your ranking depends on that what you have done so far is not what you are doing moving forward; and all we are focusing on and insisting on is what is happening now.”
Here’s a look at how Kelsey’s team got here, what’s next, and her NCAA Tournament recap:
Louisville basketball’s return to election
Louisville began its eight-game winning streak on Dec. 21, when the Cardinals beat Florida State on their home court for the first time since 2018, 90-76, behind a season-high 27 points from Reyne Smith. It nearly ended a week later, but Noah Waterman, playing through a broken thumb on his shooting hand that required surgery, made a game-clinching layup with 1.2 seconds to spare for a 78-76 victory over Eastern Kentucky in the tournament. KFC Yum! Center.
The University of Los Angeles rang in 2025 by snapping a five-game skid at North Carolina — and celebrating the addition of five-star recruit point guard Mikel Brown Jr. to Kelsey’s roster for 2025-26. From there, he notched his first win at UVA since 1990, slammed the door on Clemson thanks to a career-high 32 points from J’Vonne Hadley and emerged victorious in a back-and-forth thriller. comes to Pittsburgh.
Between the win over the Tar Heels and the win over the Panthers, Louisville outscored its four opponents 92-58 in the final 10 minutes. Since then, it has been Syracuse that has exploded away, 85-61, and the Cavaliers at home, 81-67. In those two games, he led for 37 minutes or more and by 20 points or more.
Five different players led Kelsey’s team in scoring during this series: Smith, Hadley, Terrence Edwards Jr., Chucky Hepburn and Aboubacar Traoré.
What’s next for Pat Kelsey’s cards?
Louisville has just one game on the line this week: a 9 p.m. tip-off at SMU. This is the only game remaining on the Cards’ schedule in which the formulas that fuel KenPom.com have them as underdogs.
After facing the Mustangs, the University of Los Angeles will close out the month at home with a 7 p.m. game against Wake Forest on January 28. KenPom projects him to finish the season with a record of 23-8 (16-4).
U of L NCAA Basketball Tournament Summary
With last weekend’s win over Virginia, Louisville’s chances of receiving its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019 increased to 98%. BartTorvik.comwhich made the Cards flirt between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds on Monday.
U of L enters the week ranked 29th in the NET, good for second in the ACC, thanks to its 6-5 record in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and its lack of losses in the Quad 3-4 range . The Cards are also 19th in the country in wins above the bubble (2.56), which reflects how much better a team is than those that are teetering between making and missing the March Madness Cup.
Contact Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article was originally published in the Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Cardinals in college basketball rankings: UofL in AP Top 25
