March 3, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey shouts instructions during the second half of the game against the Syracuse Oranges at the KFC Yum. center. Louisville beat Syracuse 77-62. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Image CHARLOTE – There won’t be many secrets when SMU and No. 24 Louisville meet Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
This will be the third clash between the teams in less than a month and a half.
The Cardinals (22-9), who hold the tournament’s No. 6 seed, are looking to gain momentum after a late-February slump temporarily knocked them out of the national rankings.
No. 11 seed SMU (20-12) beat No. 14 seed Syracuse 86-69 in a first-round game Tuesday.
“It was a much-needed win for us and I expect we will play well on Wednesday,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said.
The Mustangs and Cardinals have had two regular season meetings, with both sides rarely winning at home. Louisville won 88-74 on Jan. 31, and SMU won 95-85 in the rematch on Feb. 17.
“We were the two highest scoring teams in the league this year,” Enfield said. “We’ve got to come out and score the ball against them and play some defense.”
After winning the final two games of the regular season, Louisville held the No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament for the first time.
“I’m excited to get a win in a conference tournament game,” Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey said, referring to his team’s 92-89 win over a nationally ranked Miami team on Saturday. “There’s a lot of belief in that locker room. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Last March, the Cardinals advanced to the championship game with two wins for the first time in the ACC Tournament before losing to Duke.
For the Mustangs, a four-game losing streak in the regular season may have left them out of NCAA Tournament contention, but they are trying to win the favor of the selection committee.
“We know what’s at stake,” Enfield said. “I think (Tuesday) they looked like an NCAA tournament team to me.”
Boopie Miller is SMU’s leading scorer, averaging 19.5 points per game, and Jaron Pierre Jr. is next with 17.6 points. In the game against Syracuse, both players made five 3-point shots.
“He’s very streaky, and it’s fun to watch when he gets going,” Enfield said of Pierre. “So we need that consistency from him here starting (Wednesday).”
The Mustang is tested in terms of energy. For the first time this season, SMU did not receive any points from reserves in Tuesday’s game.
Louisville enters the week ranked fourth in the nation in 3-pointers made per game at 11.9. The Cardinals closed the regular season with a win over Miami, earning their first road win over a ranked opponent in six years.
Louisville’s Ryan Conwell was selected to the All-ACC second team, while teammate Mikel Brown Jr. was selected to the third team.
One key for the Cardinals may be the health of reserve Aly Khalifa, who was battling an illness over the weekend but managed a five-assist, no-turnover effort in 11 minutes at Miami.
Kelsey, in his second season with the Cardinals, is one win away from his 50th win in Louisville.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
