Louisville men’s basketball continues a difficult gauntlet of games with a road trip to No. 19/20 Miami at 7 p.m. ET Saturday in Coral Gables, Fla. The game will air on the ACC Network.
The Cardinals are coming off a 91-57 loss at Pitt on Tuesday in which the Panthers made 17 3-pointers. Miami blew out Duke 81-59 at home Monday for its third straight win.
Louisville is 13-7 all-time against the Hurricanes, including an 80-53 home loss earlier this season on Dec. 4. The Cardinals are 0-4 vs. ranked teams this season and 62-73 against Top 25 opponents over the last 13 years.
GAME 25
Louisville (3-21, 1-12 ACC) at No. 19/20 Miami (19-5, 10-4 ACC)
February 11, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET
Watsco Center | Miami, Fla.
MEDIA INFO
Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship); Streaming (Paul Rogers, pxp | Jody Demling, Analysis)
Watch: ACC Network (Jay Alter, pxp | Malcolm Huckaby, analyst)
TOP STORYLINES
• The Cards are in the midst of an eight-game stretch to end the regular season that will see them play seven games vs. teams in the top 65 of the NET Rankings. Their five opponents from Pitt to Duke have an average NET Ranking of 38.
• Over the last 15 games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals. As of Wednesday, Ellis was one of 21 players in the nation with at least 400 points and 110 assists this season. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 13 of the last 15 games. In his last 10 games since 2023 began, he has 56 assists against just 32 turnovers.
• Over the last 10 games since 2023 began, redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers is averaging 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 21 of 42 (50%) from beyond the arc. Among players with at least 1.5 made 3s per game, Withers ranks second in the ACC in conference play in 3-point shooting at 49%.
• On Jan. 19, Louisville added freshman forward/center Emmanuel Okorafor to the roster. Okorafor is a 6-foot-9 native of Lagos, Nigeria, and became eligible immediately after arriving from NBA Academy Africa. Okorafor is averaging 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks across four games since making his debut.
• On Tuesday, Emmanuel Okorafor blocked four shots in 20 minutes at Pitt. It was the most blocks by a Cardinal since Malik Williams at Seton Hall on Dec. 1, 2018. He was the first Louisville freshman to block at least four shots in a game since Chinanu Onuaku against Savannah State on Nov. 24, 2014.
• Over the last 10 games since turning to 2023, redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James is averaging 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and 43% from the 3-point line. In the first 14 games of the year, James averaged just 6.9 points while shooting 44% overall and 31% from 3-point range.
• Freshman forward Kamari Lands has made 26 of 28 free throws across the last 15 games. Lands has made 43 of 46 free throws overall this season (93.5%), making him one of four players in the country – and the only freshman – shooting 93% or better from the stripe on at least 45 attempts.
• Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has missed the last seven games with a foot injury. He leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game and is averaging 7.5 points per contest. Before the injury, Huntley-Hatfield had made 16 of 25 total shots from the field (64%) in his last five games played.
HISTORY VS. MIAMI (UofL leads 13-7)
Last Meeting: Miami 80, Louisville 53
Dec. 4, 2022 | Louisville, Ky.
Louisville men’s basketball struggled with turnovers and interior defense against Miami, falling 80-53 in its ACC opener at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals committed 19 turnovers and were outscored 44-26 in the paint by the Hurricanes, who shot 50% from the field, including 58.1% in the first half.
Louisville led 5-2 early after a 3-pointer by redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers and a basket by sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, but Miami went on a 15-2 run to lead by 10 for the first time at 17-7.
Another 3 by Withers later cut the deficit to eight, but the Hurriances rattled off 10 straight points to claim a 34-16 advantage with 6:04 remaining in the half. Miami led 42-23 at halftime and eventually led by as much as 32 with 10:22 to play. Jordan Miller paced the Hurricanes with 14 points.
Withers led Louisville with 12 points and six rebounds, while Huntley-Hatfield added 10 points and eight boards.
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