Five men’s basketball players named to All-ACC Academic team Wednesday, May 27 2020 

All-ACC Academic Team and APR and basketball and CoSIDA and darius perry and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and Grant Williams and jordan nwora and Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 7:20 pm

By Cole Emery–

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team ranked among the top 10 percent in academic success in the most recent Academic Progress Rate data released by the NCAA on May 12. 

“We are extremely proud of the academic success our basketball program has achieved in the recent years,” Head Coach Chris Mack said. “The APR speaks to speaks to the achievement and retention of our student-athletes we are fortunate to coach.”

This marks the seventh time in the last eight years the men’s basketball team has received recognition from the NCAA Academic Performance Program. The only other school in the Power Five conferences to achieve this recognition in seven of the past eight seasons is Stanford. 

Collectively, the men’s basketball team attained a 3.0 GPA in 22 of the last 24 semesters. During the 2020 spring semester, the team achieved a 3.160 team GPA. Among the 16 players on the team, 10 of the student-athletes finished the semester with a 3.0 GPA or better. Junior Jordan Nwora and freshman Samuell Williamson successfully finished this past semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA. The Cardinals strive for academic success in the classroom and feels it will help them on the basketball court.

“We wholeheartedly believe the academic success has a direct correlation to athletic success,” Mack said. “Pushing oneself to do the best in every area speaks to character. You can’t win big if you don’t display character. We are extremely proud to have five All-Academic selections, and will continue to push our student-athletes in every way.”

Along with team success, the Cardinals also earned major individual academic awards over the past year. Nwora was named to the 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America, known as coSIDA, All-American second team. He is the fourth Louisville player to ever receive this honor. Nwora also earned his third straight All-ACC Academic Team honor.

Louisville and Pittsburgh were the only teams in the ACC to have five student-athletes named to the All-ACC Academic Team including Nwora, Williamson, Lamar “Fresh” Kimble, Ryan McMahon and Darius Perry. 

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball holds off Virginia Tech Monday, Mar 2 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and No. 11 Louisville Cards and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 8:21 pm

By Cole Emery —

The No. 11 Louisville Cardinals defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 68-52 in their final home game of the regular season March 1.

The Hokies controlled the pace early on, but neither team scored well to start the game. Only one shot was made for the first 13 attempts of the game.

Despite a poor offensive performance from junior Jordan Nwora in their previous game against Florida State, he scored 11 points in the first half which matched his total from the previous game.

The first half finished in a tie at 27.

With junior Malik Williams on the sideline in a boot, the Cardinals relied on seniors Steven Enoch, Dwayne Sutton and Nwora to control the boards. The three of them combined for 32 rebounds which amounted to more rebounds than the entire Virgina Tech team who finished with 26 for the game.

Louisville also forced 16 turnovers during the game that led to 19 points for the Cards. This strong defensive ability helped the Cards go on a 15-2 run during the second half to secure the victory. Graduate Fresh Kimble led the team on the night in steals with three.

Nwora finished the game with 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Freshman David Johnson played an important role off the bench with eight points, six assists, four rebounds and a steal for the game.

Enoch scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Sutton scored eight points and secured nine rebounds. Four of Sutton’s rebounds came from the offensive end.

Louisville will play their final game of the season against Virginia at the John Paul Jones Arena March 7 at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

The Cards are looking to break Virginia’s six-game winning streak which began after they lost to Louisville 80-73 at the KFC Yum! Center Feb. 8.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball secures victory in final moments Thursday, Feb 20 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Coach Chris Mack and david johnson and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 2:11 pm

By John McCarthy–

No. 5 Louisville men’s basketball defeated Virginia 80-73 at home in a tight matchup.

The two ACC teams showed down in the KFC Yum! Center Feb. 8. The Cardinals were able to extend their winning streak to ten games.

Before the game, the University of Louisville (20-4, 11-2) honored its 1980 National Championship team led by Darrell Griffith. 

The hype of the Yum! Center helped push the Cardinals out to an early lead over the Cavaliers. Louisville bottomed five or their first six from the three-point line. The Cardinals first 15 points came via the three-point shot.

As a collective, Louisville shot 53.3% from three in the first half. The Cardinals were able to out rebound Virginia (15-7, 8-3) in the first half, leading to multiple second chance buckets that put the Cardinals up big going into the locker room.

Going into halftime, Louisville led the Cavaliers 44-30. 

In the second half the Cardinals witnessed a different Virginia team. Virginia fired back, and shot 53% from the field as a team. They also found success from the three-ball, sinking 50% of the threes they attempted.

The difference between the two ACC rivals was the rebounding category. Louisville hustled on the boards to out-rebound Virginia by 12.

With time winding down late in the second half, Junior Malik Williams went in for a two-handed flush and was hit hard, but there was no foul call on the dunk attempt. Seconds later on the other end of the floor, a foul was called on Louisville. Coach Chris Mack was furious with the call, and in turn was called for the technical foul.

This ignited a flame beneath the Cardinals for the remainder of the game. Immediately after the technical foul, freshman David Johnson hit a jumper from the elbow. Louisville went on to shutdown the Cavalier offense and hit all of their free-throws to win 80-73. 

Junior Jordan Nwora finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. Senior Steven Enoch finished with 13 points and two rebounds. Williams finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Although they are currently unranked, Virginia has not been an easy task for Louisville in the past. Nwora said, “We have had a bunch of chances to beat them, and somehow they always find a way to win. It was good just being able to finish the deal today.”

Louisville’s next match will be at McCamish Pavilion where they will take on Georgia Tech. The game is Feb. 12 beginning at 8 p.m.

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Louisville defeated Wake Forest 86-76 Saturday, Feb 15 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and Ryan McMahon and sports and steven enoch John McCarthy 12:04 pm

By John McCarthy —

The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team won against Wake Forest 86-76 in a tough match Feb. 5 at the KFC Yum! Center.

This extends the Cardinals’ winning streak to nine as they continue their ascent in the NCAA basketball rankings.

The Cardinals (20-3, 11-1) have accrued 16 wins in which they have defeated their opponent by 10 or more points this season.

The efficiency of the Demon Deacons (10-12, 3-9) stunned the Cardinals in the first half. Wake Forest busted out of the gates, shooting 60 percent from the field on 18 shots made. They also managed to out-rebound Louisville, heading into halftime plus five on the boards.

At one point, Wake Forest led the Cardinals by 16, but that would end up being their largest lead of the game. Louisville managed to keep the deficit within a dozen with their three-point shooting.

The Cardinals shot 50 percent  from three in the first half with nine three-pointers made.

Junior Jordan Nwora headed into the locker room with a dozen points and a pair of rebounds. Junior Malik Williams had eight points in the first half. Senior Ryan McMahon made two of Louisville’s nine first-half three-pointers.

The second half was all about the Cardinals’ monstrous comeback.

Without Louisville’s game-changing five minute run to open the second half, this game would have come down to the wire. With 14 minutes left to play, Nwora fooled a Wake Forest defender with a filthy crossover and followed up with an off-balance one-footed three-pointer.

Senior Dwayne Sutton carried the energy next for the Cardinals in the second half by grabbing a steal and taking it to the other end for a strong two-handed dunk.

Nwora finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and an assist. Sutton ended with a double-double, shooting for 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Seniors Steven Enoch and graduate Fresh Kimble came to life in the second half. Enoch collected two rebounds and shot for 11 points. Kimble dished four assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and scored 14 points. Collectively the Cardinals finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field.

Wake Forest had three players finishing with double-digit scoring, but the shooting of Louisville sought victory for the Cardinals.

Louisville will look to improve their winning streak to 17 when they host Virginia Feb. 8. The game will begin at 4 p.m. inside the KFC Yum! Center.

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Men’s basketball blow out Clemson at home Wednesday, Feb 5 2020 

basketball and darius perry and david johnson and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and Samuell Williamson and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 9:48 am

By John McCarthy — 

The No. 6 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team topped the Clemson Tigers at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 25. 

Louisville’s objective was to capitalize on the defensive side of the ball. Louisville wanted to contain Clemson’s pesky guards and did just that.

The Cardinals (17-3, 8-1) shot 66 percent from the field and had a 20-0 run that put them securely out in front. 

Junior Darius Perry marked the scoring column first for the Cardinals with a jumper and a three-pointer. Senior Steven Enoch followed suit by sinking a corner three-pointer. 

Clemson (10-9, 4-5) junior Clyde Trapp responded with a three-pointer of his own. Perry quickly silenced Trapp’s response with another three-pointer for the Cardinals. Perry’s shot peaked a 31-9 lead for the Cardinals. 

Freshman Samuell Williamson provided an offensive boost off Louisville’s bench with 10 points in the opening half. 

Freshman David Johnson had six assists alone in the first half. Clemson trailed Louisville 47-26 going into halftime.

Louisville’s offensive productivity shined in the second half. The Cardinals bottomed five three-pointers, and Louisville defense was much improved from their last game. 

The Cardinals never let Clemson come within 15 points throughout the second half. 

Louisville wrapped up this win, shooting 48 percent from the field. In addition, they corralled 12 more rebounds than the Tigers. 

Clemson’s second half strategy was to foul often at the rim to slow the game down. Louisville did an impressive job from the charity stripe, making 18-22 free-throw attempts. 

Louisville only shot 28 percent in the second half but still maintained a substantial lead. The Tigers could not keep up with the Cardinals and fell 80-62.

Perry achieved his career high with 19 points and hustled for five rebounds. Junior Jordan Nwora had 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Williamson provided 14 points off the bench. Enoch grabbed seven rebounds and 11 points. Johnson added eight points, five rebounds and six assists.

Louisville will travel to Boston College Jan. 29 to play the Golden Eagles at 9 p.m.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Nwora propelled Cardinals past Golden Eagles Friday, Jan 31 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and darius perry and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and jordan nwora and Louisville Cardinals and No. 6 and Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 11:15 am

By John McCarthy —

The No. 6 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team defeated the Boston College Golden Eagles 86-69 Jan. 29 at the Silvio Conte Forum. 

This is the sixth straight in-conference win for Louisville (18-3, 9-1). They have not lost a game since Jan. 4 when Florida State downed the Cardinals at home. Florida State and Duke both sit a game and a half back from Louisville in the ACC standings heading into February.

Junior Jordan Nwora chalked one up first for the Cardinals, hitting a mid-range jumper. Seconds later, Nwora sank another jump shot off an assist by graduate Fresh Kimble. Junior Darius Perry was next to mark the scoreboard with a contested layup in traffic. 

Freshman Jay Heath hit two three-pointers for Boston College (10-11, 4-6). Perry answered with a three-pointer of his own. After a 6-0 Boston College run beginning at the 16:34 mark, Louisville began to fire back. 

Perry bottomed another three-pointer to silence the Golden Eagles run. A minute later, Nwora sank a three-pointer off an assist by freshman David Johnson.

Johnson has been a much-needed spark of the Cardinals bench, providing vital assists to fuel Louisville’s offense. 

With 8:49 left in the first half, Nwora made a free-throw to tie the game 25-25. The Cardinals finished the half shooting 4-5 from deep, helping them take the lead at halftime 45-43.

In the second half, the seasoned dominance of Louisville took center stage. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton got the Cardinals started by converting both of his free-throws. A minute later, Nwora fought for two offensive rebounds in a single possession, on the second offensive rebound he tipped the ball in for two.

This momentum-swinging moment brought the Cardinals together. 

Senior Steven Enoch showed the same class of hustle soon after, grabbing an offensive board and tipping the ball in for two. 

At the 15:30 mark, Johnson stole the ball from the Boston College offense and made a timely pass to Nwora for the transition dunk. 

With five minutes left to play, freshman Samuell Williamson and Senior Ryan McMahon swished back to back three-pointers to solidify the lead for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals offense chemistry was too much for the Golden Eagles.

Nwora dazzled with 37 points and nine rebounds. Sutton had 10 points and three rebounds. Perry contributed 14 points and a pair of assists. Johnson dished out six assists and grabbed eight boards. 

The Cardinals will travel to North Carolina State Feb. 1 to play the Wolfpack at PNC Arena at 2 p.m. on ESPN. 

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No. 13 Louisville bested Miami 74-58 Wednesday, Jan 8 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Chris Lykes and dwayne sutton and jordan nwora and Ryan McMahon and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 12:16 am

By John McCarthy–

The Cardinals bested the Miami Hurricanes 74-58 at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 7.

Louisville is now 2-0 this season against the Hurricanes. 

Louisville was able to dissect Miami’s 2-3 zone early in the half for high percentage looks. Senior Steven Enoch broke through the gates with a two-handed slam to put the Cardinals on the board. 

Junior Chris Lykes fired back early at the Cardinals with the Hurricanes first five points, one of his shots being a 30-foot three-pointer. 

Junior Jordan Nwora and Senior Ryan McMahon each drained three-pointers to help Louisville (12-3, 3-1) spread the score. Junior Malik Williams flushed a monster alley-oop from McMahon with 11:57 left in the first forcing a Miami timeout. 

A block by Enoch led to an and-one floater by freshman Samuell Williamson on a Nwora assist giving the Cardinals a 16-point lead with 8:25 left in the first half, their largest lead. 

Nwora had 13 points in the first half for Louisville. Senior Dwayne Sutton racked up five points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. 

The Cardinals led the Hurricanes (9-5, 1-3) going into halftime 43-32.

Louisville was dominant in the second half. This allowed both Williams and Nwora to finish the game with double-doubles. 

Nwora got the Cardinals going early in the second half with a putback layup off an offensive rebound. Coach Mack said, “I spoke with Jordan, and told him he needs to do more than score.” Nwora finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. 

The Hurricanes began to fight back after the 17-minute mark. Senior DJ Vasiljevic drained a three-pointer for Miami to bring the score within ten points with 13:30 left to play. Despite two Cardinal blocks on a single possession for Miami, Chris Lykes received the three-point foul call and hit all three free-throws to bring the Hurricanes within five points with 9:39 left to play. 

Louisville lit it up in the last five minutes to separate themselves from the Hurricanes. 

McMahon swished a three-pointer off a Nwora assist to put the Cardinals up 11 with 3:10 left to play. 

Sutton ended the game with 9 points and 13 rebounds. Enoch grabbed 10 boards and contributed 12 points.

Louisville will face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 11 in their next matchup.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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No. 3 Louisville suffers tough OT loss against rival Wildcats Saturday, Dec 28 2019 

basketball and dwayne sutton and kentucky wildcats and Louisville Cardinals and overtime and Rupp Arena and sports and steven enoch and Tyrese Maxey Cole Emery 8:01 pm

By Cole Emery —

The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats won in overtime fashion against the Louisville Cardinals 78-70 in Lexington’s Rupp Arena on Dec. 28.

This game marked the 53rd match up for the two programs.

The Battle for the Bluegrass began with a slow start to start the game. The Cards are able to get inside early with a dunk by senior Dwayne Sutton assisted by senior Ryan McMahon.

The game remained scoreless for three minutes early in the half until freshman Tyrese Maxey hits a three-pointer to give UK (8-3, 0-0) their first lead.

Both teams were playing intelligent defense as the first free throw shot came with eight minutes remaining in the first half after junior Jordan Nwora is able to get his first points on the board.

Typically successful from beyond the arc, the Cardinals only made one three-pointer in the first half as they went 1-11.

While the Cards (11-1, 2-0) were able to put up 31 shots compared to the Wildcats 23, the Cats take a 32-24 lead going into halftime.

Junior Steven Enoch and Sutton were able to put up six points a piece for the Cards. Maxey racked up 13 points, four rebounds and an assist for the Cats in the first half.

The Cats begin the second half fouling a lot more than the first half. Maxey racks up his third foul with 17:00 left in the game, and is forced to go to the bench. Louisville will reach the bonus with 14:30 left in the game.

Despite the foul trouble, UK is able to take their lead to 12 points. Then the Cardinals are able to put together a 15-2 run against the Cats to fight back into the game.

Graduate Fresh Kimble and Enoch make some clutch three-pointers to keep the game close at the end.

With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Maxey is able to make an extremely acrobatic layup to give the Wildcats a 62-60 lead. Kimble is able to drive the lane and make an impressive layup even though there was a defensive shot interference call on the play. The basket took the Cards into overtime.

Nwora hit his first three-pointer with 2:20 left in the game to put the Cardinals up 68-65. Junior Nick Richards scored six points in the last minute of overtime to secure the victory for the Wildcats 78-70.

For the Cards, Enoch finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds, and Sutton finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

For the Cats, Maxey finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and an assist, and Richards finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cards have not won at Rupp Arena in 13 years.

Louisville will face off against in-conference contender Florida State on Jan. 4, 2020 at the KFC YUM! Center at 2:00 p.m.

File photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball back on track after 99-67 win against EKU Saturday, Dec 14 2019 

1. louisville basketball and basketball and EKU and HS and jordan nwora and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 6:42 pm

By Cole Emery —

 

The No.1 Louisville Cardinals (10-1, 2-0) faced off against in-state Eastern Kentucky University (3-7, 0-0) Saturday, Dec. 14, securing the victory 99-67.

 

The game opened up with energy, strategy and awareness from the Cardinals. EKU came in as the fourth ranked team in the country for steals and tested the patience of the Cards by running the trap press. 

 

EKU racked up three steals for the first half compared to five by the Cardinals.

 

The Cards were able to fight the tough press of EKU by smart passing and patience. This awareness, combined with their patience and precision passing, got to the basket against EKU’s zone defense.

 

A massive dunk by junior Jordan Nwora on the baseline and an alley oop from senior Darius Perry to junior Stephen Enoch brought the energy to the crowd.

 

Twenty-seven of the 57 shots came from beyond the arc for the teams combined in the first half. Louisville capitalized on 50% of their attempts compared to 26.7% from the Colonels. 

 

The Cardinals held a substantial 50-32 lead going into halftime.

 

The Colonels came out with a chip on their shoulder, playing with a lot more energy. This intensified play led them to accumulate fouls. EKU racked up seven fouls before the 11 minute mark of the second half. 

 

Even though the Colonels scored more effectively in the second half, the substantial lead by the Cards allowed freshman David Johnson, Samuell Williamson, Josh Nickleberry, Aidan Igiehon and Quinn Slazininski to culminate some valuable minutes against a talented EKU squad. 

 

Nwora finished the game with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and no turnovers. Enoch finished the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal while shooting 90% from the field. 

 

The Cardinals will be facing off against Miami (OH) Wednesday, Dec. 18. The game will start at 8:30 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center.

 

Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Louisville basketball suffers first loss of season in Jimmy V Classic Wednesday, Dec 11 2019 

basketball and Coach Chris Mack and Jimmy V Classic and jordan nwora and madison square garden and sports and steven enoch and texas tech Luke Graham 5:38 pm

By Luke Graham —

Louisville basketball put their perfect season on the line against the national championship runner up Texas Tech at the Jimmy V Classic Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden. They lost 70-57.

This loss is an important loss to the Cardinals (9-1, 2-0) early on in their season. This allows them to humble themselves without getting overconfident. With a tough schedule ahead in December and January, the team should be able to power through with a chip on their shoulder.

The first half was pretty shaky for the Cards as Texas Tech (6-3, 0-0)  was the better team in the first half and Louisville had just three field goals.

Senior Steven Enoch had a nice first half, but was not being fed the amount underneath the basket early. Once the Cards started getting the ball into the paint senior Ryan McMahon nailed a three to cut the deficit.

Enoch would finish the first half with five rebounds and had 10 points going four of five shooting and junior Jordan Nwora had five points.

Louisville started the second half slow, but Texas Tech got in foul trouble and had some key players on the bench at the 10 minute mark.

Louisville started to trap late in the second half, but the traps would not be enough and Texas Tech would counter.

Nwora finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

This year, college basketball is wide open, and Louisville had their turn in the top spot for now. It is possible they could find themselves there again but for now it is on to the next team.

It bears mentioning how impressive this team has been during the Chris Mack era. This team did not make the tournament two years ago, had a first round loss last year and held the top spot in the country this year.

Louisville looks to bounce back at noon on Dec. 14 against Eastern Kentucky University on the ACC Network. The game will be at the KFC Yum! Center.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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