Men’s basketball captain out 12 weeks with foot injury Tuesday, Nov 10 2020 

ACC and ACC Sixth Man of the Year and Chris Mack and malik williams and sports and U of L basketball and U of L men's basketball John McCarthy 3:00 pm

By John McCarthy–

University of Louisville men’s basketball forward/center Malik Williams is out 12 weeks with an apparent foot injury. The senior captain will miss the beginning of the 2020-2021 season with the Cardinals.

Williams returns to Louisville’s men’s basketball program as the most experienced player on the roster. His foot injury resides from a fracture found on his fifth metatarsal in the right foot. Williams will be undergoing foot surgery this week to repair the fracture.

This is the second season in a row that Williams was named team captain. Throughout his career with the Cardinals, Williams has collected 604 points and 444 rebounds. In the 2019-2020 season, Williams had 15+ points in his last 22 games.

“I feel for Malik. He is everything a coach could ask for in a person, player, and captain, so my heart aches for him. Our team will miss his presence on the court during his time away. I feel for our fans as well who love watching and supporting Malik’s play,” Louisville Head Coach Chris Mack said.

Williams finished as the runner-up in the 2019-2020 ACC Sixth Man of the Year award voting. He scored double figures ten times as a junior and 23 times total throughout his collegiate career at U of L. Last season Williams finished 19th in the ACC in rebounding.

This the second consecutive season that the Cardinals will have to begin the season with Williams on the sideline. Last year Williams had the same fifth metatarsal injury in his right foot that caused him to miss U of L’s season opener. Williams’ Cardinal teammates, coaches, and fans wish him a healthy recovery ahead of the 2020-2021 season.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball will take on Wisconsin in Big Ten-ACC Challenge Tuesday, Nov 3 2020 

Big Ten and Big Ten-ACC Challenge and COVID-19 and david johnson and Derek Smith and KFC Yum! Center and Madison and malik williams and Michigan and sports and U of L basketball and University of Wisconsin and Wisc. and Wisconsin John McCarthy 4:00 pm

By John McCarthy–

The Wisconsin Badgers will host the Louisville Cardinals for the 2020 Big Ten-ACC Challenge. This the 22nd annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge since the two conferences coincided in 1998. The bout between the University of Louisville men’s basketball team and the Badgers will take place Dec. 9 in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Badgers finished their 2019-2020 season 17th in the country. They also claimed a piece of the 2019-2020 Big Ten championship for the first time since 2015. Before COVID-19 caused last season’s cancellation the Badgers were on an eight-game winning streak to close out the year.

U of L has a Big Ten-ACC challenge record of 4-2 since joining the ACC. Last year the Cardinals took down No. 4 Michigan 58-43 at the KFC Yum! Center.

The last time the Cardinals played the Badgers was 42 years ago. U of L defeated Wisconsin 70-53 in that matchup. Derek Smith led U of L with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Louisville held a record of 24-7 last season with a 15-5 record in the ACC. They finished at No. 8 in the polls to end the season. U of L has three of its top nine scorers returning. All eyes will be on Senior captain Malik Williams and star sophomore David Johnson.

File Graphic // The Louisville Cardinal

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David Johnson is the key to success for men’s basketball this season Tuesday, Oct 27 2020 

ACC and basketball and david johnson and duke and sports and Trinity High School and U of L basketball John McCarthy 4:00 pm

By John McCarthy–

ACC Men’s Basketball will be alive and well this season and there’s a lot of returning talent, which means big competition.

Louisville, Duke, Florida State and North Carolina will all have returning talent.

Last week the Cardinals named senior Malik Williams and graduate transfer Carlik Jones as team captains. Another emerging leader for the Cardinals is sophomore point guard David Johnson.

Johnson’s performance in the 2019-2020 season was a pleasant surprise for Louisville. He posted a season stat line of 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game on 49% shooting. Johnson has made big strides since graduating from Trinity High School in Louisville.

The Cardinals will look to Johnson for more breakout performances in the 2020-2021 season. Johnson is known to show out in big-time conference rivalries.

When the Cardinals traveled to Duke to take on the Blue Devils last January, Johnson had his best game of the season. He broke out for 19 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Johnson carried the Cardinals to victory that afternoon, taking the No. 3 Blue Devils down on their home floor.

University of Louisville men’s basketball’s schedule has yet to be released for this season, but expect big things from David Johnson.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Louisville men’s basketball team protests through Belknap campus for equality Tuesday, Sep 29 2020 

basketball and Belknap campus and Chris Mack and LMPD and malik williams and Shawnee Park and sports and Thortons Academic Center and u of l and U of L basketball and U of L men's basketball John McCarthy 3:00 pm

By John McCarthy–

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team marched through Belknap campus Sept. 25, calling for racial equality.

Many members of the community surrounding U of L and students walked alongside the men’s basketball team to help promote equality peacefully. “The turnout was greater than we could have imagined. This is exactly what we envisioned, getting our message out about inequality, discrimination, racism, and hate,” said senior Malik Williams.

Multiple players from the men’s basketball team talked to the crowd before beginning the march. They urged everyone to protest peacefully as they marched. Louisville Metro Police Department was present during the march to help provide barricades along the march path.

The march started at the Thortons Academic Center and toured through U of L’s Belknap Campus. The march lasted for about an hour. Louisville men’s basketball head coach Chris Mack attended the march with his players.

“I understand as a white guy, a 50-year old, that Black America is hurting,” said Mack.

The team did not discuss any matters relating to the upcoming 2020-2021 basketball season. Instead, they encourage listeners to register to vote. The Cardinals asked everyone to join them at Shawnee Park Oct. 3 for a voter registration event. The event will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Cardinals blowout Pittsburgh for twelfth straight win Monday, Jan 27 2020 

ACC women's basketball and basketball and bionca dunham and Cardinal Basketball and dana evans and Elizabeth Balogun and Jeff Walz and KFC Yum! Center and kylee shook and mykasa robinson and Pittsburgh Panthers and sports and u of l and U of L basketball and U of L Women's Basketball and University of Louisville and Yacine Diop Matthew Keck 1:37 pm

By Matthew Keck —

It was a scoring frenzy at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 27 as the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals blew out the Pittsburgh Panthers 83-49. This marked the Cardinals’ twelfth straight win of the season.

The Cards (20-1, 9-0) got off to a slow start early on but led 21-13 after the first quarter. They weren’t looking back either, going on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to head into the half with a 17-point lead.

Six players contributed to the win, scoring in double digits against the Panthers (3-16, 0-8). They also posted an impressive 23 assists among eight players and 15 steals from seven Cards.

Sophomore Elizabeth Balogun, senior Bionca Dunham, junior Dana Evans and senior Kylee Shook led the team in scoring with 12 points each. Senior Jazmine Jones added 11 and sophomore Elizabeth Dixon 10 points toward the win.

Dunham was on fire from the field, shooting 5-7 and perfect at the free throw line. She also managed to pull in the second most rebounds with three offensive and defensive, for six total.

The Cards dominated the glass on defense with 29 rebounds on that side of the ball. Balogun and sophomore Mykasa Robinson topped the team with the most rebounds grabbing eight all together.

In addition to her 12 points, Shook had five rebounds and one block and steal. Evans finished shooting 4-9 and with three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Redshirt senior Yacine Diop helped the Cards with eight points, two rebounds and assists and one steal. Robinson made her stamp with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while scoring four points.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 47 percent from the field, going 7-24 from three-point range. The bench was also a big factor, scoring 24 points in their victory over the Panthers.

This win marks U of L’s tenth-straight 20-win season, and their twelve game winning streak is their best since the 2018-2019 season when they won 14 in a row.

Louisville’s coach Jeff Walz said after the game how happy he was with the Cardinals consistent scoring across the team. He praised his players for their ability to share the ball.

“We needed a game like this at home,” said Walz. “We haven’t played extremely well here [this season], like we have in the past.”

The Cards are headed on the road to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame Jan. 30. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

File Photo Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal 

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