Louisville Basketball Tips Off Season Against South Carolina State Tonight

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Cardinals open their 2025-26 basketball season tonight as they host South Carolina State at the KFC Yum! Center. The game is set to tip off at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

Entering year two under head coach Pat Kelsey, the Cardinals are eager to improve on last season’s 27-8 record, where they finished second in the ACC. In their preseason exhibitions, UofL split their games, losing to No. 19 Kansas 90-82 before defeating Bucknell 99-76.

Louisville is ranked 11th in the AP poll and 10th in the coaches poll. Analytics website kenpom.com places them 14th out of all Division I teams. The Cardinals will face a South Carolina State team that finished last season with a 20-13 record and is ranked 322nd. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the Mid-Eastern Conference (MEAC) this year.

Last season, South Carolina State struggled at 9-12 but ended strong with a nine-game winning streak and tied for the MEAC regular season title. Their standout guard, Jayden Johnson, was selected as a Preseason First-Team All-MEAC pick.

Although this is the first meeting between Louisville and South Carolina State, the Cardinals hold a perfect 9-0 record against current members of the MEAC. Their most recent encounter with a MEAC school was a victory over Coppin State in 2023.

The Cardinals will continue their season schedule with a game against Jackson State on Thursday and a rivalry matchup against Kentucky on November 11.