March 19, 2026, 5:12 a.m. ET
- Louisville basketball is about to face South Florida, which will likely be a sentimental favourite, within the NCAA Tournament first spherical Thursday in Buffalo.
- The No. 6-seed Cardinals are in search of their first event win since 2017, and the primary for coach Pat Kelsey, towards the No. 11 Bulls.
- USF coach Bryan Hodgson is a native of western New York, and the sport marks the primary time in his three years as a head coach that his father can attend a recreation to look at him.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Louisville basketball should embrace being the villain because it takes on South Florida on Thursday within the NCAA Tournament’s first round.
The No. 11-seed Bulls are a fashionable choose throughout brackets all over the place within the nation to knock off the No. 6-seed Cardinals. They’ll be much more of a sentimental favourite when the ball is tipped and the backstories of their coaches and gamers are broadcast to the nation.
After a 2025 NCAA Tournament mild on upsets — and at a time the place title, picture and likeness (NIL) and the switch portal have teamed to make the prospect of a Cinderella story appear extra far-fetched — USF checks off a lot off packing containers that may make it a lovable underdog towards the Cards.
That’s too unhealthy.
Louisville has its personal guidelines that wants attending. The program hasn’t received an NCAA Tournament recreation since 2017. UofL coach Pat Kelsey is 0-5 within the Big Dance, together with final 12 months’s first-round loss to Creighton. The Cards are hoping to extend their season into subsequent week, which could permit star guard Mikel Brown Jr.’s back to heal sufficient for him to be cleared to play.
“I wouldn’t call us villains,” UofL guard Isaac McKneely mentioned. “But obviously, people are going to root against us.”
They received’t simply be rooting towards the Cards — they’ll be rooting for South Florida. There’s a distinction.
USF head coach Bryan Hodgson was adopted as a toddler and raised in western New York. He began a basis to assist make sports activities extra accessible for foster children and their dad and mom.
His father has dementia and hadn’t seen him coach in particular person throughout Hodgson’s two seasons at Arkansas State and his lone season at USF. His father and 37 different members of the family will get that chance now.
How are you able to root towards that?
“It’s unbelievably (a) full-circle moment for me,” mentioned Hodgson, who later added, “But I think it’s all part of God’s plan, to be honest with you.”
Hodgson started his teaching profession within the junior faculty ranks, which isn’t misplaced on Kelsey, who mentioned 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 nonetheless is, actually. South Florida’s roster is crammed with gamers who had been ignored and people who, earlier than arriving at USF, needed to play in locations you’ve by no means heard of earlier than.
Starting ahead Josh Omojafo was a second-team D-II All-American at NCAA Division II Gannon University (positioned in Erie, Pennsylvania) in 2024. Starting guard Wes Enis was a D-II All-American final 12 months and transferred to USF after taking part in 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,” mentioned Tobin Anderson, who’s on employees as a particular assistant to the pinnacle coach.
If Anderson’s title doesn’t ring a bell, maybe what he was in a position to accomplish would possibly.
Anderson was the pinnacle coach at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023 and guided the Knights to develop into just the second No. 16 seed in tournament history to upset a No. 1 seed once they toppled Purdue.
Anderson sees a number of the similar qualities, a number of the similar swagger, in USF that his FDU squad had three years in the past.
“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 mentioned.
USF guard Isaiah Jones performed with Oakland in 2024 when it knocked off No. 3-seed Kentucky as a No. 14 seed. The upset took on a higher significance because it turned the final recreation John Calipari coached in 15 seasons at UK.
Jones recalled the way it was reported UofL followers flooded Oakland’s faculty web site to purchase T-shirts simply to troll Kentucky. He’d love for UK followers to return the favor ought to USF advance.
“This team can shock the world, honestly, and become a household name,” Jones mentioned.
Even Hodgson was an assistant coach at Buffalo below present Alabama coach Nate Oats when the Bulls beat No. 4-seed Arizona as a No. 13 seed within the 2018 event.
Hodgson mentioned USF feels the identical approach Buffalo did when it beat Arizona.
“We know that we’re here because of the work we’ve put in,” Hodgson mentioned. “There’s no luck.”
UofL hopes not.
The villain in a fairytale by no means fares effectively.
Reach sports activities columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, observe him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his e-newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to ensure you by no means miss one among his columns.
