Louisville Report

Louisville Earns No. 8 Seed for NCAA Tournament, Draws Creighton in Opener

The Cardinals will gets their run in the Big Dance started against the Tigers.
Matthew McGavic|
Feb 22, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey talks with guard Reyne Smith (6) and guard Chucky Hepburn (24) during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
Feb 22, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey talks with guard Reyne Smith (6) and guard Chucky Hepburn (24) during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

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Louisville Cardinals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's been a mere formality for weeks, but the Louisville men's basketball program has now officially made their return to the NCAA Tournament.

The Cardinals (27-7) received a No. 8 seed for the tournament, and will start their run in the Big Dance against ninth-seeded Creighton on Thursday, Mar. 20. Tip-off time against the Blue Jays (24-10) will be determined later this evening.

UofL was placed in the South Region, and their first and second round games will be played at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. They're matched up against No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/St. Francis, with the top four teams in the region being Auburn, Iowa State, Michigan State and Texas A&M.

Louisville punches their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, snapping a five-year postseason drought. It had been their longest since seven straight from 1952 to 1958, when the field was just 16 teams. The Cardinals will be seeking their first win in the Big Dance since taking down Jacksonville State 78-63 back in the first round of the 2017 tournament.

Year one under head coach Pat Kelsey has been nothing short of a spectacular success, and has been one of the great storylines in college basketball this season. The 19-win turnaround by Kelsey from last season's 8-24 team is not only the best in program history, it's second only to 2021-22 Iowa State's 20-game turnaround for the best in the history of men's college basketball.

Unsurprisingly, Kelsey was named the ACC Coach of the Year, and is a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year. On the floor, point guard Chucky Hepburn was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-ACC selection, while Terrence Edwards Jr. earned Third-Team All-ACC honors.

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday, Mar. 19 and Thursday, Mar. 20.

(Photo of Reyne Smith, Chucky Hepburn, Pat Kelsey: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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