Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey has his team in the ACC championship game in his first season. Kelsey’s Cardinals got a huge win over Clemson on Friday night in the conference tournament semis. It was a game unlike any other for Kelsey.
“That’s the most physical game I’ve ever coached in…it was very obvious early on how the game was gonna be called…I have a lot of respect for Brad and the program he built,” Kelsey said postgame, per Louisville Sports Network.
Louisville basketball defeated Clemson in the ACC tournament, 76-73. The Cardinals nearly blew a double-digit lead, and the officiating has been criticized. Many Clemson fans felt Louisville didn’t get called enough for fouls.
Louisville marches on to face Duke in the ACC title game on Saturday night.
Pat Kelsey is rolling at Louisville
Louisville basketball had been down the last few seasons, before Kelsey arrived. The school parted ways with Kenny Payne before the 2024-25 campaign. Louisville fans hoped Kelsey would get the team back to respectability.
Kelsey has done all that and much more. Louisville basketball has overcome injuries to key players, to find themselves near the top of the ACC standings. Kelsey is making a case that he should be national coach of the year.
The Cardinals showed people early this season they were a good squad. Louisville reached the finals of the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas, before losing to Oklahoma. The squad then rolled through most of the ACC schedule, losing just two conference games. The team has won 11 contests in a row.
Louisville has the respect of Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell.
“I don’t know that you can just focus on one player; that’s why Louisville is really good,” Brownell said, per the Louisville Courier Journal. “They’ve got several guys that can have big nights.
“(Hadley) wasn’t even the all-conference guy. He’s a great player, but we’ve got to guard as a team (and) develop a plan to try to make it hard for them.”
Kelsey is even making a name for himself on the Louisville campus. He walked around campus earlier this year, firing up Cardinals fans before a game against Tennessee. Kelsey is also issuing an invitation to former coach Rick Pitino to return and visit the school.
Louisville and Duke play Saturday at 8:30 ET. Sunday is Selection Sunday, and the Cardinals are a lock to get in the tournament.
The post Why Louisville-Clemson was a career first for Pat Kelsey appeared first on ClutchPoints.
