Louisville basketball is getting some great news. The Cardinals are getting solid three-point shooter Reyne Smith back for the NCAA tournament, per CBS Sports. Smith hasn’t played since March 5 due to an injury.
Smith averages 13.4 points per game. He’s also hit 106 threes this season, for a Louisville team that is a no. 8 seed in the tournament.
Louisville basketball is led by first-year coach Pat Kelsey, who previously coached at the College of Charleston. Kelsey has spoken out about the team’s seeding in the NCAA tournament. He’s not happy the Cardinals are an 8 seed.
Kelsey has a reason to feel that way. The Cardinals won 27 games overall this season, including 18 ACC conference games. Louisville also made the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game in the non-conference portion of the schedule, before losing the title to Oklahoma.
The Cardinals won several games this season while dealing with injury problems. Not only did Smith have to sit out for an extended period, but so have Koren Johnson and Kasean Pryor. Johnson and Pryor haven’t played since November.
Louisville plays Creighton from the Big East conference in the Round of 64.
Pat Kelsey has things rolling in Louisville
Kelsey and the Louisville basketball team just made the finals of the ACC tournament. The Cardinals lost a tough game to Duke, but the Louisville program has a lot to be proud of.
The reason why that is is because the Louisville basketball team is in the NCAA tournament again for the first time since 2019. Kelsey brought the program back from ashes. The school parted ways last season with former coach Kenny Payne, who won just 12 games in two seasons.
Kelsey previously coached Charleston and Winthrop to NCAA tournament appearances. He is respected as one of the best young basketball coaches in America. He is known as a passionate coach. That was shown when Kelsey went viral for walking around the Louisville campus firing up fans before a game with Tennessee this year.
Louisville’s 27 wins are the most the school has seen in a single-season in years. The Cardinals are inching back to the dominance last seen when Rick Pitino was leading the school. Pitino won a national championship at Louisville, that was later vacated due to a NCAA scandal. Louisville fans are hopeful Kelsey can deliver that title.
Louisville and Creighton take to the hardwood Thursday in the NCAA tournament. Creighton is dealing with some injury issues of their own, as Fedor Zugic is a game-time decision due to an ankle injury.
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