Louisville men's basketball fans celebrate turnaround in Pat Kelsey's first season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One year can make quite a difference.

University of Louisville men's basketball has gone from one of the worst teams in the ACC in the previous two years to a Top 15 ranking as the regular season comes to a close.

Louisville defeated Stanford 68-48 at the KFC Yum! Center Saturday in the final game of the regular season. Louisville seniors were honored after the Cardinals improved to 25-6 overall and 18-2 in the ACC in front of the arena's largest crowd of the season.

"It was a magical day," Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey said. "It was special. The atmosphere was unbelievable. We honored a phenomenal group of young men that have done a lot to lift up this city and to reestablish the Louisville basketball brand, which as we all know, its rightful place, is amongst the best teams in the country."

Fans have relished in the turnaround in Kelsey's first season as the team's head coach.

From empty seats, to blowout losses and unhappy fans, Louisville has struggled for the past few years amid several coaching changes. The Cardinals went 12-52 in the past two seasons and hadn't had a winning season since 2020-21.

"It was ugly dude, plain and simple ugly," said William Lewis, a UofL fan and Louisville native. "There wasn't anybody in the stands."

"It put a damper on the city of Louisville," said Alexandria Connor, who traveled from Baltimore back to her native city for Senior Day.

But that's changed in Kelsey's first season.

"The revival is real," UofL fan Chad Frazier said. "You can tell they're all about the city and the team, the name on their shirt, not the name on the back."

The Cardinals finished the regular season with 25 wins, an improvement of 17 wins from last year.

"To see them in comparison to where they were two years to now, is just, you can't help but get excited for them," Connor said.

Thousands of more fans have filled the KFC Yum! Center each game and businesses around downtown have been boosted by the winning ways. This season, Louisville's announced attendance was 14,864 per game, an increase of 3,807 compared to last year at 11,057.

"It's important because it unites us as a city, not just a city, but also a fan base," Connor said.

In the final six home games of the season, Louisville average announced attendance was 16,634 per game.

Louisville led Stanford for nearly the entire game Saturday. The Cardinals have won 19 of their last 20 games and risen to No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll.

"Now that we're back on the spotlight, it feels good," Lewis said.

The wins have re-energizing a fan base ready for more.

"It's been a great turnaround from what we've seen in the past. I'm excited to see what Pat Kelsey does moving forward," said Ashley Allen.

The Cardinals now turn their attention to postseason play with the ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Louisville has a double bye in the tournament and scheduled to play Thursday.

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