This upgrade can make Louisville basketball a March Madness contender

Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey will continue to have guard-centric teams that place added value in maximizing 3-pointers. But in order to for the Cardinals to truly get back to being a championship contender next season, Kelsey will need to upgrade the frontcourt.

A little less finesse, a lot more muscle.

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Looking back at recent NCAA Tournament champions, the pattern is there. March Madness is dominated by guard play, but the teams that cut down the nets all had frontcourts that helped lead the way.

Time and again in losses this season, the Cards were caught lacking inside. Sometimes that meant an inability to matchup with opponents who had size in the frontcourt like Duke, North Carolina or Clemson.

Against teams like Arkansas, Tennessee and Virginia, that meant being turned into a one-dimensional offense that couldn’t make up for a poor shooting performance by scoring inside.

Their final game against Michigan State crystallized their weakness.

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UofL had to match up undersized power forward J’Vonne Hadley with the Spartans’ 6-foot-11 forward, Jaxon Kohler. Hadley, who entered the game averaging 11.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, was nearly held scoreless. His lone basket came with 11 seconds left in the game, as he was held to two points on 1-of-8 shooting and grabbed three boards.

UofL guards took turns trying to defend the Spartans’ 6-foot-6, 230-pound small forward Coen Carr. The Cards just didn’t have anyone who could physically match up with him.

Carr bullied his way to posting his only double-double of the season, scoring a game-high tying 21 points with 10 rebounds. It was also just the third time this season Carr scored 20 or more points.

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See photos of UofL basketball vs. MSU in NCAA Tournament 2026

Mar 21, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals huddle before the game against the Michigan State Spartans during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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Publish date : 2026-03-24 09:10:00

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