Louisville Report

Louisville Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Ninth in 2024 ACC Preseason Poll

The Cardinals are heading into their first year under head coach Pat Kelsey.

Matthew McGavic

Louisville basketball
Louisville basketball / Jared Anderson - Louisville Report
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2024-25 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball preseason poll and All-ACC team was released Tuesday, and Louisville was selected to finish ninth in the conference race, according to a vote of 54 media members across the league.

Duke was chosen as the favorite to win the ACC title this season, with North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia rounding out the top five.

North Carolina guard R.J. Davis earned Preseason ACC Player of the Year honors, whereas Duke forward Cooper Flagg was tabbed as the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year.

New head coach Pat Kelsey and his staff have done a fantastic job of roster construction since his hiring on Mar. 28. They've brought in 12 Division I transfers and one high school prospect, with their transfer portal class ranking No. 1 in the nation according to On3.

While we have yet to see Louisville play an official game yet, they had an impressive showing during a pair of summer exhibition games in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League over two months ago. The Cardinals captured a 111-59 win over Bahamas Select in their opener, then followed that up with a 111-71 victory against the University of Calgary.

Louisville tips off the regular season against Morehead State from the KFC Yum! Center on Monday, Nov. 4.

ACC Men’s Basketball Tipoff - 2024 Preseason Poll (54 total votes)

First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters

  1. Duke (42), 956
  2. North Carolina (11), 924
  3. Wake Forest (1), 800
  4. Clemson, 765
  5. Virginia, 743
  6. Miami, 659
  7. Pitt, 636
  8. NC State, 550
  9. Louisville, 518
  10. Notre Dame, 462
  11. Syracuse, 454
  12. Georgia Tech, 433
  13. SMU, 344
  14. Virginia Tech, 252
  15. Florida State, 251
  16. California, 206
  17. Stanford, 165
  18. Boston College, 116

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1

Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year

Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1

Preseason All-ACC Team

First Team

RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37

Second Team

Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20

*denotes unanimous selection

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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