After a couple of years of slipping slowly into irrelevance, Pat Kelsey has brought Louisville basketball out of the doldrums and back into the national spotlight. The Cardinals made it all the way to the ACC title game last season before getting bounced by Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and now they are looking to take another leap in 2025-26.
Kelsey and company got off to a 2-0 start with a couple of blowout wins over inferior teams, but they passed their first test on Tuesday night. No. 12 Louisville toppled No. 9 Kentucky 96-88 in a high-scoring game at the KFC Yum! Center in a renewal of one of college basketball's best rivalries.
This was an emotional win for Louisville, which clearly made a statement that it can be one of the best teams in the country with this win. After the game, the Cardinals were excited. Maybe a bit too excited.
It turns out the Kelsey actually suffered a dislocated finger during the postgame celebration and had his hand all wrapped up during his postgame press conference.
Louisville injury report: Pat Kelsey dislocated a finger in the postgame victory celebration after beating Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/vqvzLCTFZt
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) November 12, 2025
Kelsey is usually amped up, so the fact that he was fired up about this win comes as no surprise. Thankfully for Louisville, a finger injury to the head coach won't keep him out of any games.
On top of the final result, Kelsey has to be ecstatic about the performance of his true freshman point guard, Mikel Brown Jr. The five-star recruit became a star on a national stage in this game, finishing with 29 points and five assists on 8-for-16 shooting while draining three triples.
Brown left the game at one point due to what looked like a calf cramp, but he was able to return shortly after and appears to not miss a beat.
Louisville certainly enjoyed the cozy confines at home in this game, but it isn't so fortunate with the rest of its non-conference schedule. The Cardinals will play games away from home coming up against Cincinnati, Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee, so their mettle will be tested time and time again before they begin ACC play in late December. However, if they keep playing like this, they will be tough to bear no matter where they're playing.
