Louisville Men's Basketball Falls in Week Two of AP Top 25

The Cardinals are off to a 2-0 start to their 2025-26 season.

Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drove to the basket as the Cardinals host the Jackson State Tigers at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2025. | Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just one week into the new season, the Louisville men's basketball program is already moving in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll - just not in the direction they expected.

The Cardinals (2-0, 0-0 ACC) garnered 856 points in week two of the AP Top 25, falling from No. 11 last week to No. 12 this week.

Year two of the Pat Kelsey era for the Cardinals has gotten off to an explosive start. Louisville cruised to a 104-45 victory over South Carolina State in their opener, then followed that up with a 106-70 win over Jackson State. It's UofL's first time scoring 100 in back-to-back games since 2010, and their first time ever to open up a season

Next up, Louisville host Kentucky in the annual Battle of the Bluegrass rivalry showdown. Tip-off against the Wildcats is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Full Associated Press Top 25 Poll (2025-26 Week 2)

*Points in parenthesis - first place votes

1. Houston
2. Purdue
3. UConn
4. Duke
5. Arizona
6. Michigan
7. BYU
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. Florida
11. Texas Tech
12. Louisville
13. St. John's
14. Illinois
15. UCLA
16. Iowa State
17. Michigan State
18. North Carolina
19. Gonzaga
20. Tennessee
21. Arkansas
22. Auburn
23. Creighton
24. Wisconsin
25. Kansas

Others receiving votes:

NC State 87, San Diego St. 67, Indiana 45, Oregon 43, Vanderbilt 37, Ohio St. 17, Baylor 14, Southern Cal 12, Kansas St 5, Missouri 4, Mississippi 4, Mississippi St. 3, Georgia 2, Stanford 1, Oklahoma St. 1, Texas 1, Georgetown 1, Utah St. 1, Iowa 1, Virginia Tech 1.

(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr.: Jeff Faughender - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky