Piecing Together Louisville's 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule

To say that the first year of the Pat Kelsey era of the Louisville men's basketball program was a success would be an understatement. The Cardinals went 27-8 during the 2024-25 season and 18-2 in ACC play, finishing as the conference's regular season and tournament runner-up. They also made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but were bounced in the first round by Creighton.

Three months removed from the end of that successful campaign, Kelsey and Louisville are gearing up for what many believe is going to be an even better year two. Two of their top players are running it back, three top-25 transfers are joining the fold, as are a pair of top-25 prospects in the Class of 2025. The Cardinals have already been tabbed by multiple publications as a top 5-10 team heading into next season, and have serious aspirations to win the ACC and compete for a national championship.

Speaking of year two, who exactly will Louisville be playing on their non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season? While UofL has yet to announce their full non-con schedule, we can piece it together based on what has been previously reported.

Teams are currently permitted to play up to 31 regular season games. With the ACC opting to move to an 18-game conference slate, the Cardinals in turn have 13 slots for non-conference opponents during the regular season. Out of those 13, seven have been publicly announced.

So far, five of those seven have been officially announced by Louisville. The earliest official game so far on the schedule is none other than the Battle of the Bluegrass against Kentucky, which will take place at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

After that, it's another three weeks before have our next official game, where the Cardinals will travel to Arkansas on Wenesday, Dec. 3 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. That weekend on Saturday, Dec. 6, Louisville will then play a neutral site matchup vs. Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

One week later, Louisville will host Memphis on Saturday, Dec. 13 for the start of a six-year series between the old rivals. Three days later on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Cardinals will head to Knoxville for the return trip as part of their home-and-home with Tennessee.

Two additional games have yet to be officially announced, and do not yet have a reported date. Louisville will play Cincinnati at Heritage Bank Center for the start of a two-year neutral site series, according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, and will also host Ohio, accoring to the Courier-Journal's Brooks Holton.

Heading into the final week of June, here is how Louisville's non-conference schedule currently stands:

• Kentucky (Tuesday, Nov. 11)
• at Arkansas (ACC/SEC Challenge - Wednesday, Dec. 3)
• vs. Indiana (Gainbridge Fieldhouse - Saturday, Dec. 6)
• Memphis (Saturday, Dec. 13)
• at Tennessee (Tuesday, Dec. 16)
• vs. Cincinnati (Heritage Bank Arena - TBD)
• Ohio (TBD)

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