An impressive season came to an ugly end for the No. 9-ranked Lousiville Cardinals during the first game of the NCAA Tournament this past Thursday. They were bounced, 89-75, by No. 9 Creighton.
But there is no time to sulk.
Pete Nakos of On3 reports that Lousiville is already looking ahead to Monday, March 24 when the spring transfer portal opens, where the intend to spend between $8-$10 million to improve their roster.
Since they will lose their top three scorers — Chucky Hepburn, Terrence Edwards Jr., and Reyne Smith — there’s some work to do and ground to be made up.
One option is Iowa transfer guard Brock Harding, who has reportedly narrowed his likely destinations to Louisville and five other teams. But they’ll obviously need to broaden their scope, especially if they’re going to spend upwards of $10 million.
2024 represented a significant turnaround for Lousiville under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey. They finished with a record of 27-7 record after going 8-24 last year, but are hungry for more. The program is looking for its first NCAA tournament win since 2017 under Rick Pitino and its first Final Four appearance since vacating the NCAA Championship in 2013.
With the money (and willingness) to spend, Lousiville will have until Tuesday, April 22 to revamp their roster via the transfer portal.
