CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Louisville men’s basketball hit rock bottom in Year 1 of the Kenny Payne era, winning four games and losing a program-record 28.
Accordingly, the Cardinals are starting the 2023-24 campaign ranked among the bottom third of the ACC in the league’s annual preseason poll, which was released Thursday afternoon.
A select panel of media members voted U of L 14th out of 15. The only team faring worse was Notre Dame.
Reigning ACC Tournament champion Duke earned the top spot with 44 first-place votes, followed by Miami in second place. The Hurricanes received five first-place votes.
See the projected order of finish below. First-place votes are in parentheses:
- Duke (44)
- Miami (5)
- North Carolina (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Clemson
- Wake Forest
- N.C. State
- Virginia Tech
- Pittsburgh
- Syracuse
- Florida State
- Boston College
- Georgia Tech
- Louisville
- Notre Dame
Payne has called the upcoming season his “first step in many of rebuilding.” He and his staff are in the process of getting eight newcomers and four scholarship returners to jell on the court.
After two very early looks at the roster — the Red and White intrasquad scrimmage and a 41-point exhibition win against Simmons College — it’s fair to say this group is deeper and more talented than Payne’s first.
But on Wednesday at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, second-year head coach Payne spoke about the importance of keeping the disastrous 2022-23 campaign front of mind and playing with “a chip on our shoulder.”
“We have to earn respect,” he said. “I’m constantly talking to the guys about what happened last year — how we looked, how our chemistry wasn’t right, how people viewed us.
“We have something to prove; and we’re not going to forget that. I’m not going to just say, ‘Let’s move on from it.’ I want us to prove to people that we are taking a major step in the right direction with this program. We’re going to have some success this season.”
Two of the holdovers from last season’s team said they’re embracing flying under the radar.
“I don’t want people to expect a lot out of us,” redshirt sophomore Mike James told reporters at ACC Tipoff. “I want us to come in and shock people and prove that we’re good.”
Added JJ Traynor, the lone senior on the roster: “We’re going to shock them. I like nobody expecting us (to succeed) or looking us off because of last year, but, to be honest, I don’t really understand it because we have a new team.”
Louisville’s regular season begins at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 against UMBC at the KFC Yum! Center. ACC play tips off at 4 p.m. Dec. 3, with the Cards traveling to Virginia Tech.
U of L went 2-19 against conference foes in 2022-23. Both of its wins, 68-58 over Georgia Tech on Feb. 1 and 83-73 over Clemson on Feb. 18, came at home.
A 75-60 loss at Virginia on March 4 cemented the Cards’ first winless campaign on the road since 1939-40.
Duke (No. 2), Miami (No. 13) and North Carolina (No. 19) were the only ACC teams to crack the AP Top 25 preseason poll.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.