• Louisville basketball will play Kansas in an exhibition on Oct. 24 at the KFC Yum! Center.
• The Cardinals and the Jayhawks will then meet at Allen Fieldhouse before the 2026-27 campaign tips off.
• Our take: The obvious pros of a marquee preseason game outweigh the speculative cons.

Since taking over the reins of Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey has made a statement with scheduling: Anyone, anytime, anywhere.

That mentality, and an NCAA rule change, has led to this: an Oct. 24 exhibition vs. Kansas at the KFC Yum! Center.

The high-profile matchup between the storied programs, both of which are likely to enter the 2025-26 season ranked, is the first of a two-year series. U of L will visit Allen Fieldhouse for a game against the Jayhawks before the 2026-27 campaign tips off.

In years past, exhibitions between Division I programs needed to be approved through a waiver process. The proceeds from those games were donated to charity. But in January, the DI Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee approved a proposal allowing programs to play up to two preseason exhibitions against any four-year school.

Expect this to be the norm moving forward — other noteworthy preseason games on the 2025-26 docket include Kentucky vs. Purdue and Creighton vs. Iowa State. The obvious pros outweigh the speculative cons.

Here are the arguments for and against scheduling a marquee exhibition:

Pro: Big-game experience, no strings attached

With the annual showdown between Louisville and Kentucky scheduled for Week 2 of the regular season (Nov. 11 at the Yum! Center), it’s no surprise the Cards and Wildcats are using an exhibition to get some big-game experience.

An opponent like Kansas can expose weaknesses in ways DII and DIII programs can’t. Why not get throw into the fire and see what you’re made of? Ideally, the kinks can be worked out before the results start counting for real.

Last summer, Kelsey used an exhibition tour of the Bahamas to expedite U of L’s progression in the wake of a complete roster overhaul. Opportunities like that come around once every four years, so it makes sense for him to take advantage of the rule change and ramp up the urgency in preparations for Act 2 of his revival.

Plus, Louisville will feature more players in 2025-26 who are new to the DI ranks (four) than it did in 2024-25 (one). The sooner they get a taste of a high-level college game in what should be a raucous environment, the better.

Con: What if Louisville falls flat?

Year 2 of the Kelsey era is shaping up to be Louisville’s most anticipated season in quite a while. Cards fans are starving for a deep NCAA Tournament run, and national pundits have been reassuring them that they’re not crazy for thinking that this team is capable of doing just that.

Beat Kansas, and those expectations go up a notch. Lose valiantly, and the buzz isn’t going anywhere.

But it’s worth pondering — a pessimistic byproduct of deflating exhibition losses to Lenoir-Rhyne and Kentucky Wesleyan during Kenny Payne’s tenure, perhaps — what the vibes would be around the program like entering the 2025-26 campaign if U of L falls flat like it did when Tennessee visited the Yum! Center in Week 1 last November.

We’re not saying it’s going to happen. Even if it does, Louisville’s record and March Madness résumé won’t reflect it. There will be plenty of chances for a bounce-back signature win out of the gate. It’s just that, when a team schedules an exhibition like this, it’s vulnerable to the wind being knocked out of its sails.

Pro: More fans, more money

The seismic House v. NCAA settlement received final approval last week, meaning Louisville can begin paying athletes directly soon. The projected revenue-sharing cap for 2025-26: $20.5 million.

With that extra burden on the budget, packing the Yum! Center for an exhibition vs. Kansas is a no-brainer.

Last season, the Cards drew announced crowds of 10,928 and 11,556 for preseason games against Young Harris and Spalding, respectively. U of L says announced attendance reflects the total number of tickets sold.

With all due respect to the Mountain Lions and Golden Eagles, the Jayhawks are a much bigger draw. Combine their prestige with the hype surrounding Louisville, and there shouldn’t be many empty seats.

Con: Could an intense exhibition lead to injuries?

Anytime a player steps onto a court, there’s the potential for them to suffer an injury. It doesn’t matter if the opponent is Kansas or the scout team.

But, assuming this exhibition will be played with more intensity than Louisville’s dominant wins over Young Harris and Spalding last season, the case could be made that there’s a heightened risk of having someone go down with something that could affect the trajectory of the 2025-26 campaign.

The last thing the Cards need is for the injury bug to rear its ugly head after it hit hard in Year 1 of the Kelsey era. One returner, Kasean Pryor, is still recovering from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis championship game last November.

Will the 6-foot-10 forward be at full strength by the time this exhibition against the Jayhawks rolls around? We’ll have to wait and see. The good news is, U of L can be cautious with managing his minutes considering the game’s low stakes.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

Ian Premer started his official visit tour and Kansas was the first stop for one of the nation’s top tight end prospects.

Premer, from Great Bend, was one of 15 official visitors in Lawrence and only one of the two uncommitted prospects. He has been on campus several times, but those were one day visits. The official visit gave him the opportunity to be around the staff and see updates to the new facilities and stadium renovations.

After spending close to three days around the Kansas program he saw a family atmosphere.

“A few things that stood out to me is how much of a family it is there,” Premer said. “All staff members seem to be on the same page and always treat everyone with the utmost respect. Additionally, it didn’t take long to see how close the players were with each other and the bond that the commits had.”

Most of the visitors have already committed to KU, and several of them are local recruits. Premer knows many of the recruits who were on the visit with him.

“It was a lot of fun being able to get to hang out with them,” he said. “I have gone through the recruiting process with a lot of them, so had become good friends. We had a great time together.”

He was paired with Kansas quarterback David McComb.

“My player host was David McComb,” Premer said. “It was great hanging with him and the current players. They treated me like family, and I really appreciated that.”

Some of Premer’s previous visits to Kansas were before Lance Leipold hired Matt Lubick as the tight ends coach. Lubick has been recruiting Premer since he joined the program in December. Premer already learned some new techniques from Lubick.

“It’s been great getting to know Coach Lubick,” he said. “I became a much better route runner just by spending a couple hours and watching film with him. He could really help me with that part of my game.”

Premer is ranked the ninth best tight end in the country by Rivals. The On3 Industry rating has him ranked number four overall at his position.

Things are going to be busy over the next two weeks for the state’s top prospect. He will visit Iowa State, Notre Dame and Kansas State.

“I feel really good about my top four and obviously looking forward to those visits,” he said. “I hope to make a decision in either late June or July.”

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks might pivot to the international route to fill out the team’s remaining scholarships.

Of the three roster spots left, KU is prioritizing a backup big man, and a potential option is French 7-footer Brice Dessert.

According to 247 Sports reporter Michael Swain, Kansas is ‘heavily involved’ in the recruitment of Dessert.

Speculation around Dessert potentially joining KU is gaining traction, with both Swain and Shreyas Laddha of The Kansas City Star recently naming him as a possible target.

After playing with SIG Strasbourg in the LNB Élite this past season, Dessert is reportedly looking to explore the college route.

In 29 games in the 2024-25 season, Dessert averaged 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks across 18.3 minutes per contest.

Standing at 7-foot, 245 pounds, Dessert is a physical big man with incredible length. His wingspan measured an eye-popping 7-foot-4 at the Adidas EuroCamp in Treviso.

During the event, he participated in three camp games, averaging 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.

While the Frenchman’s age (22) gives him a seasoned edge for a college player, how his eligibility would be determined is still uncertain.

Flory Bidunga is the projected starting center for the Jayhawks, though redshirt freshman Bryson Tiller is the only piece of depth in KU’s frontcourt. Dessert and Bidunga could form into a dominant one-two punch.

If he joins the roster, Dessert could play a valuable role off the bench or even share the floor with Bidunga in bigger lineups.

The Jayhawks have also been linked to other big-man options like Patrick Suemnick, but Dessert is undoubtedly a more intriguing and high-upside target.