Louisville basketball announces ACC schedule for 2025-26

Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey - Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team’s complete 2025-26 schedule was revealed after the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its conference schedule on Tuesday.

Now going to an 18-game conference schedule for the first time, the ACC pairs each team with a “primary partner” and a “variable partner”.

The 18-game schedule features teams starting league play in late December and ending on the first Saturday of March. Each team will play one “primary partner” both home and away as well as one variable partner home and away. The variable partner will be determined each season. Teams will play one game, home or away, against 14 of the remaining 15 teams annually.

Louisville’s “primary partner” is SMU, with its “variable partner” for the 2025-26 season being Duke. The Cardinals do not play Florida State this season.

TV designations and tip-off times are still to be determined.

Dec. 30/31 TUES/WED — at California, Berkeley, Calif.
Jan. 2 FRI — at Stanford, Palo Alto, Calif.
Jan. 6/7 TUES/WED — Duke, KFC Yum! Center
Jan. 10 SAT — Boston College, KFC Yum! Center
Jan. 13/14 TUES/WED — Virginia, KFC Yum! Center
Jan. 17 SAT — at Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jan. 24 SAT — Virginia Tech, KFC Yum! Center
Jan. 26 MON — at Duke, Durham, N.C.
Jan. 31 SAT — SMU, KFC Yum! Center
Feb. 3/4 TUES/WED — Notre Dame, KFC Yum! Center
Feb. 7 SAT — at Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Feb. 9 MON — NC State, KFC Yum! Center
Feb. 17/18 TUES/WED — at SMU, Dallas, Texas
Feb. 21 SAT — Georgia Tech, KFC Yum! Center
Feb. 23 MON — at North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Feb. 28 SAT — at Clemson, Clemson, S.C.
March 3/4 TUES/WED — Syracuse, KFC Yum! Center
March 7 SAT — at Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.

Notably, Louisville will open ACC play with a trip to the Golden State for the first time since West Coast programs Cal and Stanford have joined the league. Then, the rest of January is highlighted by both Duke games.

Five of Louisville’s final eight conference matchups will be on the road, including a trip to North Carolina and Clemson, and the season-finale at Miami (FL).

Head coach Pat Kelsey has already put together one of the nation’s most daunting non-conference schedules, one that includes road trips to Arkansas and Tennessee. Not to mention, neutral-site games against Indiana, Baylor, and Cincinnati. Now, with the ACC projected to improve, the Cardinals will have plenty opportunities to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume come March.

Louisville opens its season Monday, Nov. 3, at home against South Carolina State.