Louisville Men’s Basketball Unveils Non-Conference Schedule Featuring Surprising Matchups and High-Stakes Showdowns

As part of The Hoops Classic in Partnership with Care Source multi-team event, Louisville is facing Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, and NJIT.

On Monday afternoon, University of Louisville Athletics announced the complete men’s basketball non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season.

Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey has publicly noted the importance of a high-quality non-conference schedule and has mentioned the Cardinals’ upcoming series with Cincinnati and Memphis as building blocks.

The complete non-conference schedule

• Friday, Oct. 24 vs Kansas — exhibition
• Tuesday, Oct. 28 vs Bucknell — exhibition, Kentuckiana Friends of V organization
• Monday, Nov. 3 vs South Carolina State — season-opener
• Thursday, Nov. 6 vs Jackson State
• Tuesday, Nov. 11 vs Kentucky
• Saturday, Nov. 15 vs Ohio
• Friday, Nov. 21 at Cincinnati* — game at Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati)
• Monday, Nov. 24 vs Eastern Michigan — MTE
• Wednesday, Nov. 26 vs NJIT — MTE
• Wednesday, Dec. 3 at Arkansas — ACC/SEC Challenge
• Saturday, Dec. 6 vs Indiana* — game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
• Saturday, Dec. 13 vs Memphis
• Tuesday, Dec. 16 at Tennessee
• Saturday, Dec. 20 vs Montana
• Saturday, Feb. 14 vs Baylor* — game at Dickies Arena (Fort Worth)

The schedule will include 10 games at the KFC Yum! Center, five 2025 NCAA Tournament teams, and six games against power-conference opponents.

Louisville basketball fans, brace yourselves — the 2025-26 non-conference schedule just dropped, and it’s shaping up to be quite the gauntlet. Announced officially this Monday, the University of Louisville will host a whopping 10 games right in the KFC Yum! Center, featuring a slew of heavy hitters from the 2025 NCAA Tournament lineup. We’re talking five tournament-caliber squads and six clashes with power-conference foes, ensuring that Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals will be tested early and often. The season kicks off with a fresh face on the docket, South Carolina State, making their first-ever run-in with Louisville on basketball’s opening night — a matchup you won’t want to miss. With notable showdowns against Cincinnati and Memphis tied into The Hoops Classic multi-team event, Kelsey’s emphasis on building a tough, quality schedule is crystal clear . If you’re thirsty for every juicy detail, I’ve got you covered right here. LEARN MORE

The Cards open the regular season on college basketball’s opening night against South Carolina State — which will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.