Louisville Basketball Full Schedule Prediction

       Since Louisville is coming into the season ranked for the first time in years, and I have desperately wanted to talk about this, here is my subjective prediction on Louisville Basketball’s 2025-2026 schedule: 

10/24 vs 19 Kansas (EXH): W 79-68

While the first game for Louisville is against Kansas, that doesn’t discard the fact that it is still an exhibition game, so both teams won’t be using optimal lineups as often. With that being said, Kansas has arguably the best freshman in the country, but Louisville has a more well-rounded team. Due to that, and the fact that this is a home game, I see Louisville pulling out with the win.

10/28 vs Bucknell (EXH): W 94-46

With this just being an easy exhibition game against a decent Bucknell team in the Patriot League, I see Louisville winning pretty easily. No problems here.

11/3 vs South Carolina State: W 90-45

Just like Bucknell, I don’t expect much from this team except an easy first win. (1-0)

11/6 vs Jackson State: W 87-52

Jackson State is a bit better than the previous teams, but nothing Louisville can’t handle. Louisville will easily glide to their second win. (2-0)

11/11 vs 9 Kentucky: W 89-88

It’s 11/11, make a wish, because this Kentucky game at home is one of, if not the most hyped up games of 2025. It has everything you want: rivalry, cold blood, and a monumental early season test for this team. It is undeniable that whoever wins this game will have momentum and bragging rights for the rest of the year, so it's important to ask the question: Who will win? Well, after careful consideration, I really don’t know. It is all but a coin flip to pick the winner of this heated rivalry game. But screw it, I have Louisville winning 89-88 off a last second 3 pointer. Gimme that win. (3-0)

11/15 vs Ohio: W 92-61

On the back of their big game against Kentucky, Louisville will come out and beat the Bobcats pretty handily. Make that another win. (4-0)

11/21 @ Cincinnati: W 75-71

This is another big rivalry game, and according to my knowledge Cincinnati has already taken down a highly ranked Michigan team in an exhibition. It is important to note that this game is technically a neutral site game and will be played at Cincinnati's old stadium. Apart from that, I see Louisville edging them out and getting another win. Make that (5-0)

11/24 vs Eastern Michigan: W 80-53

Another weak team will come into the Yum and face the Cards, and I see this being another easy win for Louisville. (6-0)

11/26 vs NJIT: W 98-57

Just like two days ago, Louisville will get the easy win. (7-0)

12/3 @ 14 Arkansas: L 72-85

Just like many have highlighted, this is an obvious slip-up game for Louisville. Arkansas is a very underrated squad in my opinion, and the Coach Cal led team will give them their first loss in my opinion. All this will happen while Kenny Pane, now an Arkansas assistant coach, will be mindlessly staring into the void. This will be a very hostile environment, and the Cards will have a hard time slowing down Nick Pringle. (7-1)

12/6 @ Indiana: W 90-70

No, I am not an Indiana believer. They have been good in the past and they may have some talent, but I see Louisville bouncing back after their loss and taking down Indiana at their place. Just like last year, Louisville will come in and dominate, beating Indiana handily and getting back in the win column. (8-1)

12/13 vs Memphis: W 64-61

Man, Louisville is just bringing back all their old rivalries this year. Memphis is a very dominant physical team, and I think they have the potential to give Louisville a lot of trouble. This will be a tight, heated, and low scoring game that will be intense until the final buzzer. And yes, I’m still mad about 2014. (9-1)

12/16 @ 18 Tennessee: L 74-79

I just think Tennessee is a bad team matchup-wise. They are all very big and we have to play in their tough environment, making this a very difficult game. Another interesting factor is us playing against Nate Ament, who we heavily recruited and almost had in a Cards jersey. Good luck Louisville, but this challenge may be too big to overcome. (9-2)

12/20 vs Montana: W 93-45

This is Louisville's last non-conference game until February, and their last cupcake game period. Enjoy this last free win. (10-2)

12/30 @ California: W 78-71

Louisville starts their conference schedule by making the pilgrimage to California to meet the newest ACC teams. Believe it or not, I am higher on California than most, and combine that with playing at their place, and I think we have a game. However, this isn’t a challenge Louisville can’t overcome. The Cards will start off conference play with a win. (11-2, 1-0)

1/2 @ Stanford: W 87-63

Stanford is a consensus bottom feeder in the ACC this year, and although they gave us some trouble last year, I see Louisville making it by them no problem. All of their best players graduated and their fanbase has already given up on them before the season has started. Louisville wins easily. (12-2, 2-0)

1/6 vs 6 Duke: W 88-79

There’s nothing more to say about Duke that hasn’t already been said. This will be the biggest home game of the year other than Kentucky, and a key ACC game between the 2 top contenders. Duke has a brutal roster, with the Boozer twins and key returning pieces to boast. However, it is the return of a beloved new Louisville Basketball tradition: The Stripe Out. Who says a little magic can’t happen? Gimme Louisville by 9 and a marquee win for the early Pat Kelsey years. (13-2, 3-0)

1/10 vs Boston College: W 95-53

Boston College is terrible, there’s no way around it. Louisville will continue their momentum after the Duke game with an easy win against BC. (14-2, 4-0)

1/13 vs Virginia: W 54-48

Virginia has always been a thorn in Louisville’s side. Time after time, Louisville has had trouble getting around them easily. Combine that with Virginia’s annoyingly defensive game plan, and this win won’t come easy. However, Virginia is still down this year and I don’t see them being as much of a problem as they usually are. Give Louisville another W. (15-2, 5-0)

1/17 @ Pittsburgh: W 76-74

Pitt is a lot better in my eyes than many others think. Combine that with this being an away game and us barely beating them twice last year and I think this is a game. At this point in the season Pitt will still probably have a good conference record as well, so I think they will have a lot to play for, but I still see Louisville pulling out another gritty win. (16-2, 6-0)

1/24 vs Virginia Tech: W 85-61

At this point, what is Virginia Tech basketball even about? They’ve been irrelevant for years and this season won’t change anything. This will be another Boston College level win. (17-2, 7-0)

1/26 @ 6 Duke: L 88-92

Although we have a history of not being all that bad at Cameron, I don’t see Louisville sweeping Duke in the regular season. Duke will be hungry for revenge, and combine that with them being at home and this game isn’t favorable for Louisville. Goodbye perfect conference record. (17-3, 7-1)  

1/31 vs SMU: W 87-65

Due to Louisville and SMU being ‘on their own’ geographically in terms of the conference, they are the ACC “rivalry” game for Louisville, meaning they play twice and conference play. Since Louisville and Duke play twice, you may wonder, “That's too many games?” Well never fear, from now on Louisville will leave one ACC team off their schedule. That team this year will be Florida State. After discussing that, I have no problem playing SMU twice. I believe they are a good team poised for success in this conference. With that being said, no I don’t think they are on Louisville’s level this year. I’ll talk more about them in the second game, but for this one, Louisville is at home and they will be needing a bounce back win after Duke. Cards win this one. (18-3, 8-1)

2/4 vs Notre Dame: L 70-85

Don’t ask me why, but I have a bad feeling about this game. Louisville has had no shortage of strange games against Notre Dame, and this year will be no different. I don’t think it will be a triple overtime thriller, but I see Notre Dame coming in and controlling the game the whole time. Combine that with their dark horse status in the ACC, and Louisville gets their first home loss. (18-4, 8-2)

2/7 @ Wake Forest: W 95-78

Wake Forest is a basketball school, but that doesn’t mean they're necessarily good at basketball. While they feasted on an easy schedule last year, they crumbled under real competition. I think they will do much of the same this year, and that won’t change when they take on Louisville. Cards come in and dominate after the Notre Dame loss. (19-4, 9-2)

2/9 vs NC State: W 67-60

Make no doubt about it; NC State will be good this year. They are a projected top-5 ACC team and they will be highly touted by their game at Louisville. While I think they have really good pieces, their all-around talent isn’t as good as Louisville’s. This is most likely the second biggest conference game of the year other than Duke, and it’s going to be our white out game of the year. With the crowd and environment on our side, I think Louisville gets the statement conference win. (20-4, 10-2)

2/14 @ Baylor: W 86-78

While this is technically a neutral site game, for all intents and purposes this is a home game for Baylor. This is what I’ve wanted Louisville to do all last year; schedule a Power 4 non-conference game during conference play to boost our status compared to other conferences. Since the ACC is still down this year, I can see this game lifting up the whole conference if Louisville wins. Talk about a throwback to Metro Conference days! I am insanely excited for this game, and I see a pumped-up Louisville taking down a solid Baylor squad in this game. (21-4, 11-2)

2/17 @ SMU: W 70-69

Part of the reason we scheduled the Baylor game is because we were already coming down to play SMU at their place. Since this is the second matchup of the season, and it’s at their gym, this game will be a lot closer than the previous one. Don’t get this wrong, SMU is a dangerous place to play at when they’re good because their fans are into it and it’s a loud, compact stadium. This game will be a shootout and I see Louisville having to score in the clutch to win. (22-4, 12-2)

2/21 vs Georgia Tech: W 83-68

Although Georgia Tech got the best of us last season, I don’t see that happening this year. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a good team, but I see the Cards getting the best of them. I have a lot of hope for Louisville down the stretch this season. (23-4, 13-2)

2/23 @ 25 North Carolina: W 84-80

North Carolina is the final real regular season test for the Cardinals. Like NC State, they are predicted to be top 5 in the conference and should be better than last year. However, Louisville has proven so far to be good in conference play, and I believe North Carolina is a little overrated. While this will definitely be a close game, I see Louisville coming out with a key win that will most likely lock up a double bye in the ACC tournament. (24-4, 14-2)

2/28 @ Clemson: W 96-62

While Clemson was clearly a top-3 team in the ACC last year, they have lost almost everybody from their team last year. They won’t be terrible, but they will be nowhere near as good as they once were. Due to that, I don’t see them putting up any competition to Louisville down the final stretch. In fact, I see Louisville blowing Clemson out for one of their biggest margin of victories in ACC play. (25-4, 15-2)

3/3 vs Syracuse: W 76-65

I think Syracuse will be an alright team in the ACC, but nothing more. They’ve lost everything that once made them good and they aren’t tracking as well as they historically have. It’s also Louisville’s last home game (but strangely not senior night), so we will have that on our side as well. Let’s close out the Yum with a win. (26-4, 16-2)

3/7 @ Miami: W 89-58

Miami isn’t going to be as bad as last year, but that by no means guarantees that they will be good. By this point in the season, they will most likely have lost all their momentum, and although we’re playing at Coral Gables, the Cards will end off their season with a win. (27-4, 17-2)

So there it is, my biased Louisville fan prediction of the entire men’s basketball season. While I can see a few more losses along the way (especially to UK), I believe in Louisville’s ability to not lose easy games. As long as that happens, Louisville will lock up a double-bye in the ACC tournament and a good seed for March Madness. We haven’t seen if there’s tournament potential for a deep run yet, but we will soon. Go Cards.