Louisville Basketball Season Preview 2024-25: Biggest games, key players to watch and more

The Louisville Cardinals start the 2024-25 college basketball season determined to bounce back from the 8-24 slate it had last year.

The poor record forced the program to fire coach Kenny Payne, who went 12-52 during his two years as the Cardinals' bench tactician.

Former Winthrop and Charleston coach Pat Kelsey replaced Payne and assembled an overhauled roster consisting of 13 transfers, one freshman and one returnee.

Here's an inside look into Louisville's upcoming campaign from its biggest games and the key players for this season.

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Louisville's biggest games of 2024-25 season

Louisville will have a challenging non-conference slate this season, featuring 2024 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Morehead State, Tennessee, Indiana, Gonzaga and Kentucky in its schedule. They open the season with home games against Morehead State on Nov. 4 and Tennessee on Nov. 9.

The Cardinals head to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis mini-tournament. They'll start their campaign against Indiana on Nov. 27 and meet either West Virginia and Gonzaga the following day.

Louisville will take on SEC foes Ole Miss on Dec. 3 and Kentucky on Dec. 14 before wrapping up its non-conference slate against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 28.

Pat Kelsey's men will play 20 games against ACC teams in the second half of the season with Pittsburgh, Virginia and Florida State playing the Cardinals twice in a home and away slate.

It will take on California, Clemson, Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest at home. Louisville will also visit Boston College, Georgia Tech, NC State, Notre Dame, SMU, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

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Top Louisville players to watch out for in 2024-25 season

Louisville parades a 15-man roster mostly made up of transfer portal pickups. Kelsey will hope his transfer-heavy lineup can click immediately and win more than eight games this season.

Here are the three Louisville players to watch out for in this year's campaign:

#1. Terrence Edwards Jr.

Terrence Edwards Jr. (Image Source: IMAGN)

Terrence Edwards Jr. is coming off his best year with JMU before transferring to Louisville. The 6-foot-6 guard played 36 games and averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest last season.

Edwards shot 42.7% from the field and 81.0% from free throws. He's expected to be one of the important pieces of the Cardinals' offense this season.

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#2. Kasean Pryor

Kasean Pryor (Image Source: IMAGN)

Kasean Pryor was one of the key contributors for USF last season. The 6-foot-10 forward tallied 13.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.2 spg.

Pryor, who shot 44.7% from the field this past season, will be one of the dependable frontline players for Louisville's 2024-25 campaign.

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#3. Aboubacar Traore

Aboubacar Traore (Image Source: IMAGN)

Louisville picked up a diamond in the rough in former Long Beach State player Aboubacar Traore. The 6-foot-5 Ivorian is coming off his best season in his three-year stint in the NCAA, averaging 12.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.4 bpg.

Traore, who shot 51.7% from the field in 36 games last season for Long Beach State, would likely play the small forward spot for Louisville and help Terrence Edwards Jr. in offense.

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Predictions for Louisville's 2024-25 season

Louisville will likely improve from last season's dismal record, winning at least 15 games this year. The transfer-heavy lineup could bring unpredictability to the Cardinals' opponents this season.

The lineup could encounter trust issues in the first part of the campaign, but Louisville is expected to find a way to put up a more respectable performance this season.

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Will Louisville win 15 games in the 2024-25 season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.