This time last year, Louisville was preparing to enter its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference tournament as the league’s last-place finisher.
Few could’ve predicted that just 12 months later, the No. 14 Cardinals would have a chance at sharing the regular-season title.
Louisville (24-6, 17-2) can earn its first ACC championship if it beats visiting Stanford on Saturday and if second-ranked Duke stumbles by losing to North Carolina.
Regardless of the weekend’s outcome, coach Pat Kelsey has the Cardinals locked into an NCAA Tournament spot for the first time in six years ahead of Saturday’s unorthodox senior day.
After previous coach Kenny Payne was fired following a 12-52 mark in two seasons, this season’s team didn’t return a single scholarship player from 2023-24.
Instead, Kelsey built the group with veteran newcomers, which has paid off exceptionally. Wisconsin transfer Chucky Hepburn leads the team with an average of 16.3 points per game, followed by former James Madison star Terrence Edwards’ 15.8, College of Charleston’s Reyne Smith’s 13.4, and Colorado’s J’Vonne Hadley’s 12.4 — each of whom will be honored Saturday, three days after the team’s most recent game — an 85-68 home victory over Cal.
“We were fortunate to come out with a win (Wednesday). We’ve got a quick turnaround, and we’ve got to be ready for a big one on Saturday,” Kelsey said. “We’re going to be honoring the senior class, and many of these guys have only played one year in a Louisville uniform, but this group is going to be remembered around here and beloved and celebrated for a long time.”
In the Cardinals’ eighth straight win Wednesday, Edwards’ career-high 35 points led Louisville, which saw a fourth player score 30 points in a game this season for the first time in program history.
Hepburn had 37 points in a victory against Pitt on Saturday, while Hadley scored 32 against Clemson on Jan. 7 and and Smith tallied 30 vs. SMU on Jan 21. The latter two games also were Cardinals victories.
Looking to spoil Louisville’s celebration is a Stanford team fresh off a heart-breaking defeat.
The Cardinal (19-11, 11-8) led Notre Dame by two points with one minute left Wednesday before Cole Certa’s game-winning 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining snapped Stanford’s three-game winning streak.
Despite the loss, the Cardinal have earned a first-round bye in next week’s conference tournament and are a win away from posting a 20th victory for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Led by senior Maxime Raynaud, who ranks second in the ACC with an average of 20.2 points per game and paces the conference with 10.9 rebounds per contest, Stanford’s first season in the ACC has been a success.
“It’s fourth time I’ve taken over a program, and your seniors are always going to set the foundation,” first-year Stanford coach Kyle Smith said. “It’s not always perfect, but these guys are incredible. They’re the best I’ve ever been around in that way.”
Behind Raynaud, Oziyah Sellers adds 13.5 ppg and Jaylen Blakes chips in 13.2.
Saturday will mark the third all-time meeting between the programs, and the first since Louisville’s 20-point win in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Louisville leads the series 2-0.
–Field Level Media
