The 2026–27 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represents the University of Louisville during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They are led by third-year head coach Pat Kelsey.
Previous season The Cardinals finished the 2025–26 season with a record of 24–11, 11–7 in ACC play, finishing 6th in the conference. As the sixth seed in the 2026 ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the Second Round where they defeated SMU by four points. Their run ended there as they lost to Miami in a re-match of their final regular season game. The Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the six-seed in the East region. They defeated eleven-seed South Florida in the First Round before losing to third-seed and eleventh ranked Michigan State in the Second Round to end their season.
Offseason Coaching staff Louisville saw significant turn over in its coaching staff with three assistant coaches leaving. Brian Kloman took the general manager position with the Auburn Tigers. Thomas Carr took a position with Indiana. Former Louisville player and national champion Peyton Siva left for a position at St. John's to coach under his former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.
Louisville hired John Andrzejek as associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Andrzejek spent one season as head coach of Campbell before resigning to join the Cardinals. He also spent two seasons with the Florida Gators where he helped lead them to the 2025 national championship.
Departures
Incoming transfers
2026 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular Season
Schedule Source:
Rankings
References