Louisville basketball picked 3rd in ACC preseason poll before Year 3 under Pat Kelsey

Louisville basketball 's second trip through the ACC under Pat Kelsey was a letdown. The Cardinals finished sixth after coming in at No. 2 in the conference's preseason poll .

Will Kelsey and his overhauled roster bounce back in 2026-27? A select panel of 48 media members thinks so.

UofL was third in the ACC's predicted order of finish released Oct. 13.

For the fourth consecutive preseason, Duke was crowned the favorite to win the conference. The Blue Devils have swept its regular-season and tournament championships the past two years.

After going 18-2 in ACC play and reaching the conference tournament championship game in Year 1 under Kelsey, Louisville posted an 11-7 record and failed to advance past the tournament's quarterfinal round in 2025-26.

Some of the drop-off can be attributed to a back injury that sidelined star freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. from eight of the Cards' regular-season ACC games — including losses to Stanford, Duke and Virginia — in addition to the entire postseason. But the conference was also deeper than it was the year prior, doubling its NCAA Tournament bids from four to eight.

"If you can win this conference, you can win a national championship," Kelsey told reporters Oct. 6 at ACC Tipoff. "We're excited about competing for that."

UofL returns only one scholarship player from its 2025-26 roster, junior guard Adrian Wooley . Kelsey's collection of 11 newcomers, comprising eight veterans out of the NCAA transfer portal and three freshmen, ranks fifth on 247Sports' national leaderboard .

The centerpiece of Louisville's portal haul, former Kansas forward Flory Bidunga , earned first-team preseason All-ACC honors. The reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year was the only Division I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in 2025-26.

Senior guard Jackson Shelstad , an Oregon transfer, appeared on the preseason All-ACC second team. He was on pace to post new career highs in points (15.6) and assists per game (4.9) before an injury to his shooting hard cut short his final season with the Ducks to 12 appearances.

After exhibitions against Kansas (Oct. 21) and Mercyhurst (Oct. 28), the Cards open the regular season Nov. 2 against Chattanooga at the KFC Yum Center . ACC play begins with a Dec. 30 trip to Virginia Tech.

Here's a look at the complete ACC projected order of finish and the players who received preseason accolades:

ACC basketball preseason poll 2026-27: Louisville picked third

Note: First-place votes are in parentheses.

ACC basketball preseason awards 2026-27: Louisville's Flory Bidunga earns first-team honors

Player of the Year: Thijs De Ridder (Virginia)

Freshman of the Year: Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (Duke)

All-ACC: Thijs De Ridder (Virginia), Flory Bidunga (Louisville) , John Blackwell (Duke), Shelton Henderson (Miami), Patrick Ngongba II (Duke)

All-ACC (second team): Malik Reneau (Miami), Jackson Shelstad (Louisville) , Chance Mallory (Virginia), Amani Hansberry (Virginia Tech), Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (Duke)

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.