The Louisville Cardinals saw their outstanding season come to an end today against a Creighton team that just outplayed them on this particular day. Kalkbrenner's advantage at the rim on both sides of the ball, combined with untimely three after untimely three was too much to overcome for Pat Kelsey's team today. If I know one thing, it's that the feeling of losing a tournament game is one of the worst feelings one can experience without a doubt, but that feeling is much better than watching your team not even have a chance to win one at all, let alone win less than ten games for two straight years.

This article isn't a game recap or analysis on the game that was played today. Louisville lost and I've not only accepted the fact, but I'm ready to flush it as crazy as it sounds. Did I want Louisville to win in deciding fashion today and make a run in this thing? I absolutely did. We all did a thousand percent. However, I remember how the fans of this great program were down bad before the season began. I remember the expectations placed on this team with a mid-major coach/staff coming up a level and learning on the fly just how desperately this city needed to watch good basketball again. I remember sitting at 8-24 at the end of last season wondering what happened to the team I watched that had championship aspirations year after year. I wasn't sure if Louisville would ever get back to that level, but now there's not a doubt in my mind that those days are coming sooner rather than later. That's because of one man, and that's Pat Kelsey, who still deserves to sweep Coach of the Year awards across the board.

If I have to be the guy that holds on to a moral victory or two, then so be it, because this article is all about the resurrection of Louisville and how this one loss doesn't define the season. The one thing I won't allow anyone not to remember is just how special this Louisville team was and still is even after a disappointing first round exit. Not only did they spearhead the "ReviVILLE" of a sleeping giant that is Louisville, but no matter if they lost by 30 points to Creighton today, whatever expectation you placed on them after Kasean Pryor went down in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament was exceeded by an enormous margin. If somehow we could've took a peek into the future and seen this year from start to finish, you'd be lying if you wouldn't thoroughly enjoy what you saw. Especially after the last couple years of hell we all experienced together.

After the loss to Kentucky at Rupp, Louisville was sitting at a measly 6-5 with no real hope of having a comeback season from a fan perspective. Barely above .500 and the injuries just continued to pile up on them. There was no way that a coach could come here in his first season and overcome all of this adversity that made a tough job even tougher than it already was. It seemed nearly impossible, until it wasn't. I didn't see it, you didn't see, hell I don't even know if they saw it at that point in time, and look what Pat Kelsey and this group made out of it. They went on as magical a run as we could've ever dreamed about from that point forward, winning 21 of their last 24 games with two separate win streaks of over 10+ games. This is the most wins we've seen from a coach in his first season here in our history, which includes hall of famers like the late great Denny Crum and arguably the best head coach of all time, Rick Pitino. We got to see more wins in this one season than we did the last two combined. This is the most wins we've ever seen in the ACC since joining the conference in 2015 and this is also the first year that Louisville made the ACC Championship. Kelsey just did all that in his first season with a team that was fully healthy for a whopping total of two games. Seriously, I hate to lose like everyone else, but we need to sit back and enjoy the ride we were on, because it's been a while since we got to feel that rush again.

Louisville fans have been spoiled for a while, and rightfully so, this is one of the most storied programs in NCAA history. The first step of getting back to where we belonged was hiring the right guy for the job and that's not even up for debate anymore. Louisville and Pat Kelsey is a match made in heaven, because he's got the energy we were missing for the past few years along with a winning formula that we now know is proven. There's no telling how this year would've ended if we had stayed healthy, but it is what it is. This staff will be working endlessly until this program is ready to compete for a national championship and that's why I'm not worried. The year that will put Louisville officially back on the map will begin next season and I've been saying that for a while now. We can only assume that Kelsey and staff will get better and better as time goes, because they showed us who they are when our backs were against the wall. It's how you define the true measure of a man in my humble opinion.

I can lay down tonight and ask myself did I witness a loss today? Yes I did, but the more important questions are did Pat Kelsey revive this once dying program? Yes he did. Did Louisville exceed expectations this season? Yes they certainly did. Is this program in good hands for the future? Yes it is. And last, but not least, is Louisville basketball back? The answer is hell yes, we're back and we're here to stay for a long, long time. As long as those things are true, I'm not losing any sleep over today. So even if watching the rest of the tournament hurts and it will, just know that this right here is just the beginning and if you enjoyed this year, you ain't seen nothing yet trust me. Louisville will experience the glory again I just know it. So it stings now, but whenever you bring yourselves to do so, go back and appreciate just how successful this first season was.

Huge thank you to each and every last one of our players and coaches who became instant fan favorites. None of this year is possible without you guys giving it everything you had from the beginning and I truly hope you understand the impact you had on everyone in the city of Louisville. This has been the best year we've experienced since pre-covid, so again thank you for everything and it's something we will never forget. Y'all brought Louisville back out of the slums and ensured we're heading in the right direction, which is all we could've asked for. This year was much needed, because I’m not sure if this city could’ve endured another bad year, but y’all made sure it didn’t. The faith has been restored.

As for the rest of the country, you better get Louisville now, because I'm not sure y'all are prepared for what's coming. Louisville basketball WILL be back and they'll be better.

Oh and I placed a prediction for the top uncommitted player in high school Nate Ament to commit to Louisville in the coming weeks. I don't see him going anywhere else as of right now and I'm firm on that stance until I see otherwise.

Stay ready Card Nation, because the Louisville we grew up loving is coming before you know it and that's enough for me for the next several months.