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Sometimes even winning takes its toll.
Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey learned the hard way Tuesday night as he tried to avoid the postgame celebratory brawl following their victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
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Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey didn’t like a call during the second half when the Louisville Cardinals hosted the Kentucky Wildcats at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. (Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The No. 12 Cardinals defeated the No. 9 Wildcats 96-88 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
He entered his postgame media availability with his right middle finger in a splint. He said he was trying to keep his assistant coaches from harassing him after the win across the arena.
“I’m 50 now, but I have some wheels,” he said. “There’s a curtain separating the two halves of the court and I try to go through it, but my finger gets caught on something.”
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Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey entered the Cardinals’ student section after the Cards beat the Cats 96-88 in the annual UofL-UK rivalry game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, November 11, 2025. (Matt Stone/Courier Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Kelsey said her finger was bent almost 90 degrees, but she wasn’t sure if it was broken. A team doctor helped him reset the finger.
“There’s so much adrenaline in my body right now that I didn’t feel anything,” he said.
Louisville’s victory over Kentucky is one of the most important in recent years. Kelsey took over as head coach of the Cardinals after the team went 8-24 under Kenny Payne during the 2023-24 season.
The Cardinals went 27-8 last year and made their first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season.
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey yells instructions to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky in Louisville, Kentucky, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
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Louisville had lost 14 of its last 17 against Kentucky before Tuesday’s victory.
