Louisville basketball‘s 2025-26 roster is garnering sky-high expectations. It’s only fitting Pat Kelsey put together a schedule that will test the Cardinals early and often.
The latest piece of the puzzle was revealed Wednesday in a report from Jon Rothstein for College Hoops Today: U of L will visit Arkansas as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
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Kelsey enters Year 2 with Louisville ranked seventh in ESPN’s latest way-too-early top 25. If Aly Khalifa wins his appeal for an extension of his eligibility clock, the Cards will boast five scholarship returners from the 2024-25 season in addition to three transfers (Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooley) and four players who are new to the Division I ranks (Mikel Brown Jr., Mouhamed Camara, Sananda Fru and Vangelis Zougris).
Here’s what we know so far about U of L’s 2025-26 schedule:
Note: Tipoff times and TV assignments are TBD unless otherwise noted.
Louisville basketball’s 2025-26 preseason exhibitions
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey instructs his team against Ole Miss during their game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 3, 2024.
Louisville has scheduled an Oct. 24 exhibition against Kansas at the KFC Yum! Center. In return, the Cards will make a trip to Allen Fieldhouse for a preseason game against the Jayhawks before the 2026-27 campaign tips off.
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In previous years, marquee exhibitions such as these were approved through a waiver process. The proceeds from the games were donated to charity. But in January, the DI Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee approved a proposal allowing teams to play up to two preseason exhibition games against any four-year school, including DI teams.
U of L has also scheduled an exhibition against Bucknell at the Yum! Center, according to a copy of a signed contract between the two schools obtained via an open records request. A date has not yet been finalized.
Louisville basketball’s 2025-26 nonconference schedule
Louisville’s guard J’Vonne Hadley (1) makes a shot against Stanford Saturday at KFC Yum! Center. March 8, 2025
Louisville has confirmed the dates of the following nonconference games:
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The Cards will also host Ohio at the Yum! Center, according to a copy of a signed contract between the two schools obtained via an open records request. A date has not yet been finalized.
U of L also reportedly has two neutral-site games on the books — against cross-state rivals Indiana (Dec. 6) and Cincinnati (TBA). The former will be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and the latter will be at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati.
Louisville basketball’s 2025-26 ACC schedule
Mar 15, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; The championship trophy before the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
The ACC is moving back to an 18-game schedule in 2025-26. The conference has had a 20-game slate since 2019-20.
As part of the change, Louisville has been assigned a primary partner (SMU) and a variable partner (Duke), meaning it’ll play home-and-home series against the Mustangs and the Blue Devils this season. Primary partners won’t change from year to year, but variable partners will.
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In addition to those series, the Cards will play 14 of the conference’s remaining 15 programs once. They will not face Florida State after sweeping a home-and-home against the Seminoles in 2024-25.
U of L’s home ACC matchups are:
The road trips are:
Of note: Louisville has never played at Cal’s Haas Pavilion or Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. The Golden Bears and the Cardinal joined the ACC in 2024-25. Last year, the conference’s East Coast teams spent a full week out in California, playing back-to-back games against the new members.
The ACC Tournament is returning to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2026. If the tournament follows a schedule similar to years past, crowning a champion on Selection Sunday eve, it would run March 10-14, 2026.
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The bottom three teams in the league standings at the end of the regular season will be left out of the field.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball schedule 2025-26: Pat Kelsey’s Year 2 slate
