KFC Yum! Center will host Wade Houston Tipoff Classic Monday, Nov 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Carlik Jones and COVID-19 and Duquesne Basketball and Evansville Basketball and KFC Yum! Center and Little Rock Basketball and malik williams and Prairie View Basketball and seton hall basketball and Southern Illinois Basketball and sports and U of L men's basketball and UNC Greensboro Basketball and Wade Houston Classic and Winthrop Basketball and WKU Basketball John McCarthy 5:00 pm

By John McCarthy–

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team had to hurdle many obstacles to host the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alas, the schedule for the season-opening event at the KFC Yum! Center is on.

U of L will begin their season on Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. against Evansville University. Prairie View A & M vs. Little Rock University will follow.

But Louisville’s season opener on the 25th is only the beginning of the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic. U of L will face off against Seton Hall on Nov. 27. Prairie View A & M will challenge the Cardinals on Nov. 29. Western Kentucky University will come into town to face U of L on Dec. 1. To wrap up the event, UNC Greensboro will come to Louisville to face the Cardinals on Dec. 4.

Nine schools will enter the Wade Houston Classic, playing 16 games in total. The KFC Yum! Center will host all of the games for the Wade Houston Classic, which will stretch over a ten-day span. Louisville, Duquesne, Evansville, Little Rock, Prairie View A&M, Seton Hall, UNC Greensboro, Western Kentucky and Winthrop will all be participating in the event.

Winthrop University was a late entry into the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Southern Illinois University was originally slated to be apart of the event but withdrew because of safety concerns.

The Cardinals will look to tackle Evansville on Nov. 25. U of L will be starting their season without senior captain Malik Williams. Louisville will look to fellow senior captain Carlik Jones to lead the way at home against Evansville.

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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Women’s basketball secures victory on senior night Monday, Mar 2 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and dana evans and jazmine jones and KFC Yum! Center and kylee shook and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist and senior night and sports Cole Emery 8:21 pm

By Cole Emery —

The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals defeated Virginia Tech in their final game of the year 70-53 at the KFC Yum! Center March 1.

The Cardinals (27-3, 16-2) never trailed during the game, and the Hokies did not score for the first 5:40 of the game. Walk-on senior Jessica Laemmle scored first with a 15-foot jumper. Despite the low amount of scoring, the Cards spread the ball around and assisted on five of their eight made shots for the quarter.

The Hokies (21-8, 11-7) came into the game scoring the second most three-pointers per game in the ACC, but the Cardinals’ powerful defense held Virginia Tech to just three of 15 from three-point range.

Virgina Tech brought their deficit to eight points thanks to a layup from junior Aisha Sheppard, but they did not bring the deficit any closer during the remainder of the game.

Senior Jazmine Jones led the charge for the Cards offensively with 18 points, three assists and two rebounds. Jones entered the game as the fourth best shooter in the nation at 55.1 percent and continued to be an essential piece to this potent Cardinal team.

Junior Dana Evans made her first return since she suffered an ankle injury Feb. 20 against Georgia Tech, and the Cardinals’ leading scorer accounted for 11 points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal off the bench.

Senior Kylee Shook continued to display her prowess with her fifth double-double in six games to finish out the season. One of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist and ACC leader in blocked shots scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, assisted three shots, swiped a steal and blocked one shot.

This victory made history for the seniors of the team. They set a school record for most victories in a four-year career with their 124th win.

The Cardinals are taking a lot of momentum into the ACC tournament after finishing with five straight victories to end the regular season.

Louisville will play against the winner of the Syracuse and Virginia game in the quarterfinal of the ACC tournament March 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum on the ACC Network.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball routed by Seminoles Friday, Feb 28 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Chris Mack and david johnson and dwayne sutton and jordan nwora and No. 11 Louisville and No. 6 Florida State and Ryan McMahon and sports and Trent Forrest John McCarthy 1:43 pm

By John McCarthy —

The No. 11 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team lost 82-67 to the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles Feb. 24 at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

The Cardinals (24-6. 14-4) played in front of an unwelcoming crowd, as the arena was at 100% capacity. With this loss, Louisville now sits a game half back from Florida State in the current ACC standings.

The Cardinals were strong defensively in the first half and held the Seminoles (24-4, 14-3) at 15 points through the first ten minutes of the game.

Louisville’s old-school scoring style to get to the rim proved effective. The Cardinals produced only two-point buckets and free-throws through the first 13 minutes of the game until senior Ryan McMahon bottomed a three-pointer from the left wing to put the Cardinals up 24-17.

The Cardinals kept their space from Florida State on the scoreboard during the first half, matching every jumper the Seminoles hit from the field. Headed into the locker room for halftime, Louisville led Florida State 40-32.

Early in the second half, the Cardinals sat comfortably in the driver’s seat with a ten-point lead and looked to have the obvious momentum. Louisville soon went through a nine-minute scoring drought.

Seminoles senior Trent Forrest scored 14 of his 16 total points in the second half during Louisville’s stretch without a basket. Florida State ended up rallying back for the home victory due to the Cardinals scoring drought, defeating Louisville 82-67.

McMahon finished with 14 points. Junior Jordan Nwora had 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman David Johnson totaled 13 points, four points and four assists. Senior Dywane Sutton finished with eight points and five rebounds.

The Seminoles’ field goal percentage propelled them to victory, they shot 51% from the field and 31% from the three-point line. Head coach Chris Mack said, “We battled. I thought their pressure, although it might have not turned us over, kept us on our heels. We handled it the first 20 minutes. Just didn’t keep up the pace in the second half.”

Louisville will host Virginia Tech next at the KFC Yum! Center Mar. 1 at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Women’s basketball blows out Pittsburgh Wednesday, Feb 26 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and bionca dunham and jazmine jones and kylee shook and mykasa robinson and No. 5 Louisville Cardinals and sports and Yacine Diop Cole Emery 11:50 pm

By Cole Emery–

No. 5 Louisville defeated Pittsburgh 79-47 Feb. 23 at the Petersen Events Center.

The Cards played the game without their starting guards junior Dana Evans and sophomore Elizabeth Balogun due to injuries.

A slow start led to Louisville taking a one point lead into the second quarter.

To start the second quarter, junior Jazmine Jones made both of her free-throws after being fouled. She then stole the ball during the next possession and made the transition layup. This sparked a 15-0 run for the Cards and opened up their lead to double digits.

During the second and third quarters, the Cardinals outscored Pittsburgh 50-17 thanks to their defensive ability. Louisville forced Pittsburgh to cause 10 turnovers during that span and 22 for the entire game.

Senior Kylee Shook helped defensively with three blocks in a three minute span during the third quarter.

In the starting line up due to injuries, redshirt senior Yacine Diop made her mark and finished the game with 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Replacing the other injured guard, sophomore Mykasa Robinson scored two points, grabbed eight rebounds and eight assists.

Shook led the charge offensively with a team-high 17 points for the game.

“That was kind of my focus this year coming in as a senior” Shook said. “I felt like I had to be more aggressive on the offensive end.”

She also secured 10 rebounds and five blocks during the game. This marked Shook’s sixth double-double for the year and her third in the last four games.

Jones and senior Bionca Dunham both scored double-digit points as the Cardinals spread the ball around well with four players scoring double digits.

Louisville will face off against Boston College at the KFC Yum! Center Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. ET on the ACC network.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball blow out the Tar Heels Sunday, Feb 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Cole Anthony and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and HS and jordan nwora and malik williams and roy williams and Ryan McMahon and sports Cole Emery 4:00 pm

The No. 11 Cardinals defeated North Carolina 72-55 Feb. 19 at the KFC Yum! Center.

The contest had a sloppy start as both teams accumulated seven turnovers collectively in the first four minutes of the game. 

Freshman David Johnson made the first basket of the game with an open three-pointer from the left wing.

After a three minute scoring drought for both teams, junior Jordan Nwora got the Cards (23-5, 14-3) back on track with a mid-range jumper. Johnson suffered three turnovers early in the game and senior Ryan McMahon, who drained his first shot from behind the three-point line, subbed him out. 

Freshman Cole Anthony for North Carolina (10-17, 3-13) displayed his ability to score inside with his first six points coming from inside the paint.

Graduate Fresh Kimble stole the ball and scored the transition layup to give the Cardinals a double digit lead with less than a minute left in the first half. 

The Cardinals took a 36-23 lead into halftime.

Nwora led the charge for the Cardinals with nine points and five rebounds. Junior Malik Williams scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and dished an assist. Johnson scored five points and assisted three baskets, but did not suffer another turnover for the rest of the half. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton scored the first basket of the second with a two-handed slam. 

Louisville noticeably slowed the game down to start the second half. They scored eight points in the first four and a half minutes without allowing the Tar Heels to score a single point.

Nwora achieved a double-double in points and rebounds early in the second half as the Cardinals started the half on a 14-3 run. 

The Cardinals went to the free-throw line more often in the second half after they shot only two free-throws in the first half and found themselves in the bonus with nine minutes left in the contest.

The Cardinals cruised to the victory and maintained a double digit lead the entire second half. 

Nwora finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Williams finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block. 

Regarding Louisville’s team, future Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams said after the game, “They have the one of the chances of those teams that could win the whole blessed thing.”

The Cards travel to Florida State in their next contest Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Photo by Jessica Abell // The Louisville Cardinal

 

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Women’s basketball shows off defensive ability against Georgia Tech Sunday, Feb 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and dana evans and defense and Elizabeth Balogun and HS and jazmine jones and kylee shook and McCamish Pavilion and mykasa robinson and sports Cole Emery 3:58 pm

The No. 5 Cardinals defeated the Yellow Jackets 58-47 Feb. 20 at the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga. 

Even though the Cardinals are known as an offensive powerhouse, leading the ACC in field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage, the Cards displayed their defensive ability in this game. They racked up eight blocks compared to zero from Georgia Tech. 

Senior Kylee Shook said after the game, “We knew they can drive amazing and their posts can score, so we did a good job helping out. We were strong on the perimeter, too.”

Shook made her impact known early on with the first basketball of the contest from a three-pointer assisted by sophomore Elizabeth Balogun. 

The Cards jumped out to an early 12-4 lead before Georgia Tech showed any life on offense. 

Junior Dana Evans made her presence known in the second quarter, scoring seven points in less than two minutes of play.

Senior Jazmine Jones showed off the ice in her veins with a jumper right before the buzzer to end the first half.  

The Cardinals took a 36-26 lead into halftime. 

The third quarter was the lowest scoring quarter for both teams and the only quarter Georgia Tech outscored Louisville.  Even though the Yellow Jackets outscored the Cards this quarter, the Cards ended the quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to an Evans three-pointer and Jones scoring a free-throw along with a layup in the final minute of the quarter.

The Yellow Jackets struggled to make a game-ending run. They brought their deficit to seven points, but sophomore Mykasa Robinson drained a jumper and assisted a Jones layup on the following possession. 

Shook made a couple of layups along with two Jones free-throws to hold off the Yellow Jackets from making a comeback in the fourth. 

Shook finished the game with 13 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Jones finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Evans finished with 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball squashes the Orange Sunday, Feb 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Buddy Boeheim and dwayne sutton and HS and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and Quincy Guerrier and Ryan McMahon and sports Cole Emery 3:56 pm

No. 11 Louisville defeated the Syracuse Orange 90-66 Feb. 19 at the KFC Yum! Center, putting their two-game losing streak behind them. 

The Cards immediately showed their dominance from behind the arc when senior Dwayne Sutton drained a three-pointer assisted by freshman David Johnson on the first play of the game. Senior Ryan McMahon matched the energy with a couple of three-pointers to a quick 11-5 lead to begin the game.

Freshman Quincy Guerrier helped keep Syracuse in the game early on with his ability to grab rebounds and make shots. 

McMahon finished the half with two more three-pointers which ended up being the last shots he made from the field. This help allowed the Cards to take a 41-34 lead into half-time. 

To begin the second half, junior Malik Williams fired on all cylinders, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in the first five minutes of play. This momentum allowed the Cards to develop a double digit lead.

The Orange found difficulty scoring in the second half. Two minutes of scoreless basketball from Syracuse allowed the Cards to go on a 13-0 run and brought their lead to 25 points with nine minutes left in the game.

The Cardinals ability to move the ball helped them tremendously in this game as they racked up 23 assists as a team, the most they accumulated for a game this year. Their ability to grab offensive rebounds greatly helped them as they had four more than Syracuse and outrebounded them 45-36 as a team.

Sophomore Buddy Boeheim had 15 points and Guerrier had 14 for Syracuse in their loss.

Williams matched his career high in rebounds with 13 in his first start of the year while scoring 14 points as well. Sutton helped the team with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Nwora only shot 5-18 but still put together 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists to end the game.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

 

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No. 5 Cardinals Men’s Basketball falls to Clemson Thursday, Feb 20 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Chris Mack and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Littlejohn Coliseum and malik williams and sports John McCarthy 3:12 pm

The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team lost to the Clemson Tigers 77-62 Feb. 15 at the Littlejohn Coliseum.

This is the Cardinals (21-5, 12-3) third road loss this season, and Louisville is now enduring a two game losing streak.

Louisville shot poorly in the first half. The Cardinals shot 15.6 percent from the field as they managed to sink 3 of the 16 three-pointers.

The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field and flushed three three-pointers. Clemson (13-12, 7-8) had two players with double-digit scoring totals before the half.

Senior Dwayne Sutton led the Cardinals through their rough shooting streak. Sutton had eight points and six rebounds in the first half.

Louisville trailed Clemson 31-14 going into the half, the Cardinals lowest halftime score so far this season.

Clemson continued their excellent shooting performance with the help of the crowd. The Tigers ended the game shooting 51 percent from the field.

The Cardinals fouled Clemson 19 times, which led to 18 made free-throws for Clemson.

The Cardinals rebounded and assisted better than the Tigers, but Louisville’s 34.8 shooting percentage held them back.

At one point, Clemson led the Cardinals by a lopsided 21 points. Louisville came within 11 points at the 1:54 mark after Junior Jordan Nwora banged a three-pointer, but that was as close as the Cardinals came to tying the Tigers.

Clemson sealed the win at home with their second win against a top ten team in the nation.

Sutton shined in the Cardinals’ defeat. He had 18 points and seven rebounds. Freshman David Johnson contributed late in the game, ending with 12 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Junior Malik Williams had nine points and four rebounds.

Coach Chris Mack for Louisville said after the game, “It’s my fault. I have to figure it out. We as a coaching staff have to figure it out. It looks like we’re playing like we don’t have anything to play for. It’s frustrating. But it’s my job to figure it out, and I’ve failed so far.”

Louisille will look to redeem their play Feb. 19 at the KFC Yum! Center when they host the Syracuse Orange.

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Louisville Women’s Basketball downed NC State Thursday, Feb 20 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and bionca dunham and dana evans and Elizabeth Balogun and jazmine jones and Jeff Walz and kylee shook and mykasa robinson and Reynolds Coliseum and sports and Yacine Diop John McCarthy 3:09 pm

No. 9 Louisville women’s basketball defeated the No. 4 North Carolina State Wolfpack 66-59 Feb. 12 at the Reynolds Coliseum.

This victory for the Cardinals (22-3, 11-2) came a game after they were upset inside the Carrier Dome Feb. 9 by the unranked Syracuse Orange. With this win, the Cardinals sit atop the ACC standings along with NC State (22-2, 11-2).

Louisville will look to enter back into the top five in the AP poll come Monday after an impressive victory.

Senior Bionca Dunham provided an early spark for the Cardinals in the first four minutes, putting up three points and a defensive rebound. Senior Jazmine Jones struck in the first quarter as well, swishing a three-pointer and banking in a pair of layups. Junior Dana Evans contributed four points and dimed an assist in the first quarter.

By the end of the second quarter, the Cardinals lead grew to ten. Jones and Evans bottomed three-point jumpers. Sophomore Mykasa Robinson made a jumper and a free-throw and dished an assist to Evans for a three-point bucket.

Louisville came out in the second half shooting efficiently from the field, shooting 57% from the field in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

A late third-quarter run by the Wolfpack brought their deficit to five points.

After a two-minute drought for the Cardinals, Senior Kylee Shook drove into the lane for a layup, increasing the lead to six as the third-quarter clock expired.

The Cardinals did not score till the 7:25 mark of the fourth quarter, allowing North Carolina State to creep within three points of the lead.

Senior Yacine Diop stroked a three-pointer to free the Cardinals from their fourth-quarter jitters and spread the lead back to six.

Minutes later, Jones hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to eight before crossing into the five-minute mark. Three points was as close as the Wolfpack got from tying the game.

Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz said, “We followed the scouting report and did exactly what we needed to do.” As time winded down the Cardinals played superb defense, shutting down North Carolina State. With 43 seconds remaining in the game, Junior Elizabeth Balogun drilled a dagger three-pointer to solidify the upset victory.

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