Early in the morning on January 25, 2021, college basketball’s weekly Top 25 poll from the Associated Press was released. At the bottom, in the final ranked spot, sat the Louisville Cardinals. Fresh off a 70-65 victory over the Duke Blue Devils, the Cardinals saw themselves return to the Top 25 after a one-week hiatus. Only two days later, after a 9:00 P.M. tip-off against ACC foe Clemson, the Cardinals fell 54-50. That loss would cause the Cardinals to fall out of the next edition of the AP Top 25, and the once-storied program began a long, dark descent into the bowels of college basketball’s basement.
Louisville Cardinals’ Fall From Grace
At #25, the Cardinals know that there is a long way to go before they’re at the apex of college basketball again, but to brush off this week’s ranking would disregard the massive accomplishments this team has made. Following the departure of head coach Rick Pitino in 2017, the team began a gradual slide that saw them go from a consistent national title contender to one of the worst teams in all of Division I.
Pitino’s direct successor, Chris Mack, was the last coach that took the Cardinals to both the AP Top 25 and the NCAA Tournament. Mack led Louisville to a 20-14 record and a trip to the Round of 64 in his inaugural 2018/19 season. The Cardinals were on pace to receive a bid in 2019/20 as well before the NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a 13-7 shortened season in 2020/21, Mack was fired midway through the 2021/22 season a 6-8 start to the season.
Mack was replaced former Kentucky Wildcats assistant Kenny Payne. Under Payne, the bottom fell out of the Louisville Cardinals. They went 4-28 in Payne’s first season at the helm. Only the Cal Golden Bears and the Green Bay Phoenix finished the 2022/23 season with more losses. In 2023/24, the Cardinals improved to 8-24, finishing in last place in the ACC for the second consecutive year.
Payne was fired on March 13, 2024, finishing his time at Louisville with a 12-52 record. His .188 win percentage was the worst win percentage by a Louisville head coach since 1940.
Pat Kelsey’s ReviVILLE
Two weeks after Paynes’ dismissal, on March 28, 2024, College of Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey was named the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. After successful stints with both Charleston and the Winthrop Eagles, Kelsey brought a history of conference championships and NCAA Tournament success with him to Louisville. Charleston won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament twice in his tenure, and won the Big South tournament three times with Winthrop.
Kelsey knew that coming to Louisville would be an uphill battle, but that’s one of the things that drew him to the job. During his introductory press conference, expressed his enthusiasm for joining the Cardinals’ program:
“It’s the best job in the United States of America… I was ready when my name was called… It’s the ultimate job.”
He quickly got to work, coining the term “ReviVILLE” for his project to return the Cardinals to the top of the college basketball mountain. Kelsey put in hard work in the 2024 transfer portal. 13 members of Kenny Payne’s 23/24 roster left via the portal, and Kelsey brought in 13 new transfers to replace them. Khani Rooths, a four-star power forward from the class of 2024, rounded out the Cardinals’ roster.
19 games into Kelsey’s tenure, the Louisville Cardinals look like a team reborn. Sitting at 14-5 overall and 7-1 in ACC play, Louisville has already surpassed its win total from Kenny Payne’s entire tenure as head coach. After a January 18 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers, Louisville has won eight consecutive games, their longest win streak since a 10-game streak in the 2019/20 season. Kelsey’s transfer class has shined, scoring 78.4 points per game while forcing opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game. Guard Chucky Hepburn, a senior transfer from the Wisconsin Badgers, leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game.
Even with the recent success, Coach Kelsey isn’t letting his team get cocky. Speaking to the media following Louisville’s 81-67 win over Virginia on January 18, Kelsey stressed that his team is only focused on the next opponent on the schedule:
“Next thing. That’s all we talk about. I’ve said this a bunch of times… The most important thing in the history of our program is the next thing we do. That’s all we worry about. I love that [the media] are talking about an eight-game winning streak because that’s good for our program. It puts people in the seats, recruits notice it. Keep writing it! But we’re not talking about it.”
The #25 Louisville Cardinals square off on Tuesday, January 21 in a road game against the SMU Mustangs (14-4, 5-2 ACC).
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