Pat Kelsey's Louisville set to renew rivalry with Penny Hardaway's Memphis following new 6-year contract
The Louisville Cardinals and Memphis Tigers are renewing their basketball rivalry this upcoming season. Both teams are set to meet on Dec. 13 at Louisville's KFC Yum! Center as part of a six-year deal between the schools. The deal runs through the 2030-31 season
The second game of the series will take place in the 2026-27 season and will be held at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Both teams have faced off against each other 90 times before, with the Cardinals holding a 54-36 advantage. They last faced off in Dec. 2017, when the Cards emerged with an 81-72 victory.
Memphis is coming off a 29-6 record and an NCAA Tournament berth as a No. 5 seed. They were upset by the Colorado State Rams in the first round of the competition.
The Tigers have a 162-68 mark in six years under Penny Hardaway as the head coach. The former star point guard has led the program to the NCAA Tournament three times, also winning the NIT in 2021.
Penny Hardaway's squad faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules last year, facing programs like Clemson, UConn and Mississippi State in their non-conference slate. There is little information about this season's schedule other than the rivalry game against the Cardinals.
Pat Kelsay began his tenure as Louisville's head coach last season, leading the program to a 27-8 record and taking the Cards to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Cards were also eliminated in the first round by Creighton.
The Cardinals' non-conference schedule for next season is already shaping up to be an interesting one. Louisville has confirmed games against Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. The school is reportedly looking to close a home-and-home series with St. John's and also has a pending matchup in the ACC/SEC.
Louisville and Memphis are renewing a historic rivalry for both schools
While the Cardinals and Tigers have shared conference multiple times in the Missouri Valley Conference, Metro Conference, Conference USA and American Athletic Conference, they haven't been in the same league since the 2013-2014 season, when both were in the AAC.
Both teams have only faced each other five times since Louisville left the Big East in 2005. However, this arrangement could open the door to renewing the rivalry for an extended period.
The Tigers have been one of Louisville's historic opponents. Their 90 matchups are the second most for a Cardinals rivalry, only behind the Cincinnati Bearcats. Both teams faced each other for the first time in 1949.