Louisville men’s basketball will face its second straight ranked foe with a home game against No. 7/6 Virginia at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will air on ESPNU.
The Cardinals found success offensively Saturday at No. 19/20 Miami, but took a 93-85 road loss despite El Ellis’ career-high 33 points. Virginia outlasted Duke 69-62 in overtime Saturday at home.
Louisville is 5-20 all-time against the Cavaliers with a 4-9 record at home. The Cardinals have lost 15 of the last 17 in the series since it resumed in 2015 after a 15-year hiatus, including a 51-50 season-ending loss in the second round of last year’s ACC Tournament.
GAME 26
#7/6 Virginia (19-4, 11-3 ACC) at Louisville (3-22, 1-13 ACC)
February 15, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET
KFC Yum! Center | Louisville, Ky.
MEDIA INFO
Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship); Streaming (Paul Rogers, pxp | Bob Valvano, Analysis)
Watch: ESPNU (Anish Shroff, pxp | Jordan Cornette, analyst)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
Celebration of Black Excellence: Honoring local heroes and community members in celebration of Black History Month; team will wear special adidas uniforms honoring Black excellence and heritage.
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 80 of the NET Rankings. Their five opponents from Pitt to Duke have an average NET Ranking of 41.
• The Cardinals shot 57.9% from the field at No. 19/20 Miami, marking the first time Louisville has shot 57% or better against an AP ranked team since a 94-82 win over No. 18 Charlotte on March 3, 2005. It was the first time the Cardinals have shot 57% or better on the road at a ranked team since an 87-72 victory at No. 15 Tulane on Feb. 27, 1992.
• Louisville had 13 or fewer turnovers just four times in the first 20 games of the season. The Cardinals have now had 13 or fewer turnovers in four of the last five games. On the other side of the ball, Louisville is averaging 9.0 3-point makes per game in the last six games after averaging just 5.9 made 3s across the first 19 games.
• Louisville has won 45 of its last 106 games against AP ranked opponents, falling to No. 19 Miami on Saturday in its last Top 25 matchup. UofL has a 62-74 record against Top 25 teams over the last 13 years. UofL has won 23 of its last 57 games when facing Top 10 teams, spanning the last 13 years.
• Senior guard El Ellis tallied 33 points and five assists in a 93-85 road loss at No. 19/20 Miami on Feb. 11. Ellis is the first Cardinal with at least 33 points and five assists in a game since Darrell Griffith did so against Iowa in the 1980 Final Four. Ellis and Griffith are also the only two Cardinals to record multiple 30-point, five-assist games in a single season.
• Over the last 16 games, senior guard El Ellis has averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals. As of Sunday, Ellis was one of 18 players in the nation with at least 435 points and 115 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 14 of the last 16 games. In his last 11 games since 2023 began, he has 61 assists against just 34 turnovers.
• In his last six games, redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers is averaging 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field, 59% from 3-point range (17 of 29) and 79% from the free-throw line. Among players with at least 1.5 made 3s per game, Withers leads the ACC in conference play in 3-point shooting at 51%.
• Over the last 11 games since turning to 2023, redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James is averaging 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field and 41% 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.
• In the last five games coming off the bench, freshman forward Kamari Lands is averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting 59% from the field (17 of 29) and 56% from 3-point range (10 of 18). He’s also 8 of 8 from the free-throw line during that stretch, improving him to 94% (43 of 46) from the stripe for the season.
HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA (Virginia leads 20-5)
Last Meeting: Virginia 51, Louisville 50
March 9, 2022 | Brooklyn, N.Y. (ACC Tournament)
Jayden Gardner tossed in 17 points and Kihei Clark scored 15 to help Virginia hold off Louisville 51-50 in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Gardner’s layup gave Virginia a 45-42 lead with 2:57 remaining, but Noah Locke answered with a 3-pointer 63 seconds later to knot the score.
Gardner hit a go-ahead jumper at the 1:28 mark and Reece Beekman made a layup following a missed 3-pointer by Jarrod West to put the Cavaliers up 49-45 with 40 seconds left. West missed another 3, but the Cardinals grabbed three offensive rebounds before Malik Williams scored to make it 49-47 with 5 seconds to go.
Louisville fouled Gardner, who made two free throws for a four-point lead. That came in handy when Louisville’s El Ellis buried a 3-pointer on the game’s final shot.
Beekman had nine assists to go with eight points for the sixth-seeded Cavaliers. Williams topped the 11th-seeded Cardinals, who led 24-20 at the half, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Latest posts by Mark Blankenbaker (see all)
- Cardinals Lose to Kentucky 17-13 in Battle of the Bluegrass - April 17, 2024
- Pat Kelsey Officially Adds Kloman, Carr, Hamilton, Foy to Staff - April 11, 2024
- Louisville Athletics, 502Circle Announce Membership Campaign - April 1, 2024