Louisville basketball must play villain role vs USF in NCAA Tournament

Louisville’s Pat Kelsey on NCAA tournament without Mikel Brown Jr.

Ahead of the NCAA Tournament 2026, Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey talks about Mikel Brown Jr.’s injury and what he expects from his team.

NCAA

• Louisville basketball is set to face South Florida, which will be a sentimental favorite, in the NCAA Tournament first round Thursday in Buffalo.
• The No. 6-seed Cardinals are seeking their first tournament win since 2017, and the first for coach Pat Kelsey, against the No. 11 Bulls.
• USF coach Bryan Hodgson is a native of western New York, and the game marks the first time in his three years as a head coach that his father can attend a game to watch him.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Louisville basketball must embrace being the villain as it takes on South Florida on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. 

The No. 11-seed Bulls are a trendy pick across brackets everywhere in the nation to knock off the No. 6-seed Cardinals. They’ll be even more of a sentimental favorite when the ball is tipped and the backstories of their coaches and players are broadcast to the nation.

After a 2025 NCAA Tournament light on upsets — and at a time where name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal have teamed to make the prospect of a Cinderella story seem more far-fetched — USF checks off a lot off boxes that will make it a lovable underdog against the Cards.

That’s too bad.

Louisville has its own checklist that needs attending. The program hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2017. UofL coach Pat Kelsey is 0-5 in the Big Dance, including last year’s first-round loss to Creighton. The Cards are hoping to prolong their season into next week, which might allow star guard Mikel Brown Jr.’s back to heal enough for him to be cleared to play.

“I wouldn’t call us villains,” UofL guard Isaac McKneely said. “But obviously, people are going to root against us.”

They won’t just be rooting against the Cards — they’ll be rooting for South Florida. There’s a difference. 

USF head coach Bryan Hodgson was adopted as a toddler and raised in western New York. He started a foundation to help make sports more accessible for foster kids and their parents.

His father has dementia and hadn’t seen him coach in person during Hodgson’s two seasons at Arkansas State and his lone season at USF. His father and 37 other family members will get that opportunity now.

How can you root against that?

“It’s unbelievably (a) full-circle moment for me,” said Hodgson, who later added, “But I think it’s all part of God’s plan, to be honest with you.”

Hodgson began his coaching career in the junior college ranks, which is not lost on Kelsey, who said Hodgson “really went about reaching this level and this level of success the hard way.”

“It’s not like he landed on second base or something,” Kelsey added. “No, he grinded.”

Hodgson still is, really. South Florida’s roster is filled with players who were overlooked and those who, before arriving at USF, had to play in places you’ve never heard of before.

Starting forward Josh Omojafo was a second-team D-II All-American at NCAA Division II Gannon University (located in Erie, Pennsylvania) in 2024. Starting guard Wes Enis was a D-II All-American last year and transferred to USF after playing two seasons at Lincoln Memorial (Harrogate, Tennessee).

“We got guys with a chip on their shoulder, guys coming from lower levels that want to prove themselves,” said Tobin Anderson, who is on staff as a special assistant to the head coach.

If Anderson’s name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps what he was able to accomplish might.

Anderson was the head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023 and guided the Knights to become just the second No. 16 seed in tournament history to upset a No. 1 seed when they toppled Purdue.

Anderson sees some of the same qualities, some of the same swagger, in USF that his FDU squad had three years ago. 

“That helps when you have guys who have a chip on their shoulder who want to go on this big stage and do something special,” Anderson said.

USF guard Isaiah Jones played with Oakland in 2024 when it knocked off No. 3-seed Kentucky as a No. 14 seed. The upset took on a greater significance as it became the last game John Calipari coached in 15 seasons at UK.

Jones recalled how it was reported UofL fans flooded Oakland’s school website to buy T-shirts just to troll Kentucky. He’d love for UK fans to return the favor should USF advance. 

“This team can shock the world, honestly, and become a household name,” Jones said.

Even Hodgson was an assistant coach at Buffalo under current Alabama coach Nate Oats when the Bulls beat No. 4-seed Arizona as a No. 13 seed in the 2018 tournament. 

Hodgson said USF feels the same way Buffalo did when it beat Arizona.

“We know that we’re here because of the work we’ve put in,” Hodgson said. “There’s no luck.”

UofL hopes not. 

The villain in a fairytale never fares well.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.