Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey excited to start 2024-25 season
Louisville Cardinals head basketball coach Pat Kelsey says he and his team are ready to make their fan base proud ahead of the 2024-25 season.
In addition to starting the Pat Kelsey era off on the right foot, Louisville basketball can also exact some revenge when its 2024-25 season officially begins tonight at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals have not played their opening-night opponent, Morehead State, since March 17, 2011. In case you forgot, the No. 13-seeded Eagles won that game, 62-61, on Demonte Harper’s 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining in regulation and sent fourth-seeded U of L packing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
A lot has changed since then, but the programs find themselves in similar places now: under the direction of new head coaches who are dealing with a lot of roster turnover.
Kelsey, of course, inherited a blank slate in the wake of Kenny Payne‘s ouster. Morehead State hired Jonathan Mattox to replace Preston Spradlin — who left in the spring, after leading the Eagles to another NCAA Tournament appearance, to fill a vacancy at James Madison — and he has only seven returners from 2023-24 at his disposal.
Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home:
U of L and Morehead State are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. today inside the Yum! Center.
Betting odds: Louisville is a 17.5-point favorite (-105) on BetMGM, which set the over-under at 145.5 points (-115).
Score predictions: KenPom.com gives the Cards a 94% chance of winning and projects an 80-63 final score in their favor. BartTorvik.com is also forecasting a Louisville victory (94%), with a projected final score of 83-66.
The game between the Cards and the Eagles will not air on a traditional TV channel.
It’s on ACC Network Extra, which is available exclusively via livestream. Jody Demling (play-by-play) and Larry O’Bannon (analyst) will have the call.
If your cable or live TV streaming package includes ACC Network, you have access to ACC Network Extra. You can watch via ESPN.com/watch or the ESPN app after logging in with your cable or live TV streaming service credentials.
If you don’t have cable, you can get ACC Network — and therefore ACC Network Extra — through streaming services such as fuboTV (FREE TRIAL) and YouTube TV (FREE TRIAL). Just enter your provider credentials when logging into ESPN’s streaming platforms.
Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst) will have the call on the Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9-FM and WGTK 970-AM in Louisville).
You can also listen online via GoCards.com.
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Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
