• Louisville Basketball's 2025-26 schedule has been growing gradually.
• The Cardinal hopes to reach 27-8 with a 27-8 record under the ACC coach of the year Pat Kelsey.

For Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey, the tough moves followed were a good question.

After the Cardinals’ first year of his tenure at Kelsey, Dreaming is one of the biggest turnarounds in Division I history – they have brought them into the ACC Championship Championship for the first time since joining the conference in 2014 and ended a crazy drought in March, a struggle dating back to 2019.

Kelsey has built a roster of five scholarship returners and five new immigrants for his next act—probably no work has been added before the team arrives on campus later this month. As of Tuesday, L's U was seventh in the top 25 ESPN in the 2025-26 season.

Can the card live up to the hype? Given how non-conference schedules come together, they should have many opportunities to prove themselves. According to a report by Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports, ACC and ESPN discussed reducing the conference section from 20 to 18 games to improve their position in the senior league.

Here's what we know (so far) about Louisville in the second year of the Kelsey era:

What about the showdown with Rick Pitino and St. John's at Madison Square Garden at the gate?

In the last four quarters of April, former Card coach told reporters that the Red Storm “has been in talks with Louisville to bring them into us early in the season.”

"I'm considering canceling the offer after they signed the backcourt that just signed," he joked. "They are looking for their timetable to see if they can do it."

There has been no updates on this aspect since then, but L fans' U will undoubtedly circle that date on the calendar if it actually works.

Louisville's December slate is more certain at the time of publication.

Kelsey & Co. will report to spend a weekend in Indianapolis - playing cross-country rivals for the third straight season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on December 6. Prior to that, these plans have not been held on hardwood since December 8, 2018 in Bloomington.

Next: On December 16, a road trip to Thompson-Bryn Arena at Downtown Food in Knoxville, Tennessee, to participate in the second leg of the Family and Family Series against UT. Volunteers dominate the first round of Louisville 77-55, which is only Kelsey's second official game.

And then, of course, the annual showdown in Kentucky. At the time of publication, no date was set; but we do know it will be in Yum! Center - The Wildcats were scheduled to play St. John's Cathedral on December 20 in CBS Sports Classic, so it's not a weekend.

As part of the annual showdown with the ACC, there should also be another SEC enemy. Last year, L's U was abandoned at home by Ole Miss (86-63). Will they go on this road?

The ACC-SEC challenge is usually scheduled to take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in late November/early December. Last year, ESPN announced the game in mid-June.

These cards are expected to be back-to-back trips at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

If the schedule of the game is similar to the past few years, crowning the champion on the eve of the Selection Sunday, it will be held from March 10-14, 2026.

The lowest three teams in the league's rankings will be excluded from the court at the end of the regular season.

Arrive at Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holden via bholton@gannett.com and follow him on @brooksholton's Twitter.