Louisville ACC Tournament Hub: Schedule, Bracket, Predictions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After bring the preseason No. 6 team in the AP Top 25, the Louisville men's basketball program's season was a bit disappointing, as they concluded the regular season with a 22-9 overall record. Also going 11-7 in ACC play, this was enough to earn them the No. 6 seed for the ACC Tournament.

While there are plenty of narratives surrounding second-year head coach Pat Kelsey's squad, he has a chance to really get the ball rolling in the ACC Tournament, and then parlay that into the NCAA Tournament next week.

Below is the complete schedule, bracket, television information and more as Louisville travels to Charlotte for the 2026 ACC Tournament:

2026 ACC Tournament Bracket and Schedule

Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drives to the basket as the Louisville Cardinals host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in an NCAA basketball game at the KFC Yum! Center, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Louisville. | Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tuesday, March 10

Game 1 — #10 Stanford vs. #15 Pitt (2:00 p.m. EST, ACC Network)
Game 2 — #11 SMU vs. #14 Syracuse (approx. 4:30 p.m. EST, ACC Network)
Game 3 — #12 Virginia Tech vs. #13 Wake Forest (7:00 p.m. EST, ACC Network)

Wednesday, March 11

Game 4 — #7 NC State vs. Game 1 Winner (12:00 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 5 — #6 Louisville vs. Game 2 Winner (approx. 4:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPNU)
Game 6 — #8 Florida State vs. #9 California (7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPNU)
Game 7 — #5 Clemson vs. Game 3 Winner (approx. 9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPNU)

Thursday, March 12

Game 8 — #2 Virginia vs. Game 4 Winner (12:00 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 9 — #3 Miami vs. Game 5 Winner (approx. 2:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 10 — #1 Duke vs. Game 6 Winner (7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 11 — #4 North Carolina vs. Game 7 Winner (approx. 9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)

Friday, March 13

Game 12 — Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 13 — Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner (approx. 9:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2)

Saturday, March 14

Championship — Game 12 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN)

Let March officially begin 🏆

The bracket for the 2026 T. Rowe Price ACC Men's Basketball Tournament is set!

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🎟️ https://t.co/XX8LfqA4pE pic.twitter.com/2FLTdCiJM2
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 8, 2026

The Cardinals' conference tournament history

Feb 21, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard J'vonne Hadley (1) reacts during the first half against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Despite being an independent for a large portion of their early history, Louisville has a fairly rich history when it comes to play in conference tournaments.

The Cardinals sport an 87-54 all-time record in conference tournaments, and have won 19 conference championships. The bulk of this production came during UofL's time as a charter member in the Metro Conference, when they compiled a 32-9 record and won 11 championships during the conference's 20-year existence. Their last conference championship came during their lone season in the American Athletic Conference in 2014, the year before joining the ACC.

Since making the jump to the ACC, Louisville has had some trouble finding success in the conference tournament. They sport just a 5-9 record, and have only made it past the quarterfinals just once. That came last season, when they made in to the championship game before falling to Duke.

This is Louisville's fourth time that they have secured a single bye in the ACC Tournament, also doing so in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In each of the three previous instances, the Cardinals won their first matchup, only to fall the very next day in the quarterfinals.

How far can Louisville go?

Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) celebrates after hitting a three-point goal against NC State at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville February 9, 2026. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Heading into the season, given the talent they had on paper, Louisville had expectations of potentially being one of the top teams in the nation. As evidenced by the fact that the Cardinals were not one of the four teams to get a double bye in the ACC Tournament, this season has been slightly disappointing.

But they do have to opportunity to make some slight noise in the ACC Tournament, and ride that momentum into the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville has already beaten both SMU and Syracuse this season. They took down the Orange 77-62 back on Mar. 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in their home finale, and won 88-74 at the KFC Yum! Center against the Mustangs back on Jan. 31 - but they did fall 95-85 back on Feb. 17 in the rematch in Dallas.

SMU is in freefall and has lost four straight, while Syracuse is likely to fire head coach Adrian Autry after this season. Regardless of who they face, especially considering they have wins over both teams, a win in the second round of the ACC Tournament seems likely.

In this case, Louisville would get a rematch with Miami in the quarterfinals. Less than a week ago, the Cards were able to take down the Canes on their own floor, 92-89, and did so without start guard Mikel Brown Jr. Beating The U again would be tough, but it would be very doable.

Should Louisville get to the semifinals, they would likely be matched up against Virginia - although they could theoretically face NC State, Stanford or Pitt as well. The Cavaliers won the regular season meeting, a 79-70 decision at the KFC Yum! Center, and the Cardinals have had their struggles against Quad 1A teams. Barring a miracle run by one of the three other teams, a victory in the semis seems unlikely.

If UofL did somehow find a way to get back to the ACC Championship, a victory here would be even more unlikely.

On the other side of the bracket, the three highest-seeded teams are Duke, North Carolina and Clemson. The Blue Devils are the favorite to win it all, and swept the Cards in the regular season, the Tar Heels won 77-74 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 23, while the Tigers did so 80-75 in Clemson on Feb. 28. It's hard to see UofL reaching the mountaintop even if they returned to the league title game.