Game Day Live Blog: Louisville vs. South Carolina State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The long offseason is finally over, and the 112th season of Louisville men's basketball is set to begin. The Cardinals will tip-off their 2025-26 season at home, hosting South Carolina State at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville heads into year two under head coach Pat Kelsey, and have a lot of expectations. They went 27-8 in year one last season, and have the talent to make a deep run next March, entering the new season ranked as the No. 11 team in the preseason AP Poll.

In their two preseason exhibitions, Louisville had an up-and-down showing. Their first matchup came against No. 19 Kansas at home, but the Cardinals fell behind early, eventually succumbing 90-82. In their second and final exhibition against Bucknell, UofL looked much more convincing, using a heavy dosage of the three-ball to win 99-76.

As for the Bulldogs, they are entering year four under head coach Erik Martin. Last season, South Carolina State started at just 9-12, but ended the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, tying Norfolk State for the MEAC regular season title. However, South Carolina State would later fall to Norfolk State in the MEAC Tournament Championship.

For this year, the Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the 2025-26 MEAC preseason poll, and guard Jayden Johnson selected as a Preseason First-Team All-MEAC pick.

Here is where you will get all the latest updates from today's contest in real time. Throughout the game, we will include any notes, injury updates and analysis in the game feed at the link below.

Game Day Live Blog: Louisville vs. South Carolina State | Game 1

South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 MEAC) at No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (0-0, 0-0 ACC) Game Day Feed

More Cardinals Stories