Cards Prevail Over #22 Miami 92-89 to Close Regular Season

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 7, 2026

Ryan Conwell scored 24 points to lead the University of Louisville men’s basketball team to a 92-89 win at No. 22/23 Miami in its regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Watsco Center.

With the victory, the Cards (22-9, 11-7 ACC) secured the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and will play at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte.

“Just saw Coach [Jai] Lucas out there in the hall. He’s done an absolute remarkable job turning this program around in a very short amount of time, and they’re playing their best basketball at the right time of the year,” said UofL head coach Pat Kelsey. “They’ve really been cooking. We were fortunate to get a win today, proud of our guys. They showed a lot of resiliency, especially after Miami took the lead late. The guys didn’t blink and they just kept battling at them. It’s nice to get a win going conference tournament play. Proud of our guys. They’ve done a really good job this year. They’ve stayed connected, unified. There’s a lot of belief in that locker room and I’m excited about what’s to come”

In its first true road win over a top-25 opponent since January 18, 2020, Louisville led by as many as 12 in the second half, but Miami (24-7, 13-5 ACC) used a late game surge to take its first lead of the contest. The final four minutes of the game featured six lead changes before a 3-pointer by Adrian Wooley and free throws down the stretch from Ryan Conwell and Sananda Fru helped UofL prevail 92-89.

Four Cardinals finished the game in double figures, paced by Conwell’s 7-for-14 showing from the field. The senior guard also went 4-of-9 from deep and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. J’Vonne Hadley tallied 16 points, going 6-of-8 from the field with a pair of threes and three steals. Wooley finished the game with 15 points behind 5-of-9 shooting and a season-high six assists while Isaac McKneely had 15 points and shot 6-of-11 with two 3-pointers and a season-high five assists.

Conwell opened the game with a 3-pointer and after a Miami basket, Louisville went on a 10-0 run to take a 13-2 lead. The Cards built a 12-0 lead, going up 29-17 at the 9:09 mark, but the Hurricanes began to chip away, eventually using an 8-2 run to pull within four at 39-35 with 1:44 left to in the first half. After a Louisville timeout, McKneely drained a 3-pointer to open a 7-2 run capped by Conwell’s layup at the buzzer as the Cards took a 46-37 lead into halftime.

In the first half, Conwell led all scorers with 18 points behind 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Louisville shot 62% (18-of-29) from the field and 60% (9-of-15) from 3-point range while Miami shot 55% (16-of-29) overall and 36% (4-of-11) from deep in the first 20 minutes.

The Hurricanes started the second half with a 3-pointer by Tre Donaldson to pull within six, but the Cards used a layup by Vangelis Zougris and a three-point play by Wooley to push their lead back to 11. Louisville went on to lead by as many as 12 with 12:28 remaining in the second half before Miami used an 8-2 run to cut the lead to six with 10:48 left to play.

A Hadley 3-pointer pushed Louisville ahead by nine 75-66. The Hurricanes answered with an 11-2 run over the next 4:24 to tie the game at 77-77 with 4:21 on the clock. After a McKneely free throw put the Cards back on top, Donaldson delivered a layup to give the Hurricanes their first lead of the game and a bucket by Malik Reneau put Miami on top 81-78 with 3:07 left to play. The lead would change hands six times over the next three minutes before Wooley’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds on the clock put the Cardinals back on top 89-87.

Louisville forced a Miami turnover which led to a Louisville possession and Conwell delivered a pair of free throws, extending the Cardinals’ the lead to four with six seconds left to play. The Hurricanes countered again with a basket by Donaldson to make the score 91-89 with two seconds on the clock, but Fru’s free throw sealed the 92-89 win.

Overall, the Cardinals shot 61% (33-of-54) from the field and 50% (12-of-24) from 3-point range while the Hurricanes finished at a 56% (31-of-55) clip and 42% (8-of-19) from deep. Miami held a 26-20 edge on the glass and finished with 17 second chance points compared to four for Louisville. The teams were even at 38 points in the paint each. Donaldson led all scorers with 25 points and dished out six assists.

Louisville is the No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament and will play the winner of the No. 11/No. 14 seeded game that is played at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.