LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville opens its 106th season of collegiate basketball with an ACC game at the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday.
The Cardinals prepped for its opener with a 75-65 victory on Oct. 29 over Bellarmine, an NCAA Division II foe ranked third in the nation. Preseason All-American Jordan Nwora led the Cardinals with 28 points, five assists and three steals and two blocked shots. Dwayne Sutton (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Samuell Williamson (17 points, nine rebounds) led the Cardinals’ rebounding efforts.
Louisville, which posted a 20-14 record and participated in its 39th NCAA Tournament last year, opens the season ranked fifth in the AP and USA Today polls under the direction of second-year UofL Coach Chris Mack. Louisville returns most of its production from the Cardinals’ successful 2018-19 squad, including three-quarters of its scoring and rebounding.
The Hurricanes beat Flagler 86-65 in an exhibition game on Oct. 30 as redshirt junior guard Kameron McGusty led the way with 20 points. Miami forced 20 turnovers in the game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Picked to finish ninth in the ACC in a preseason media poll, the Hurricanes posted a 14-18 record in the 2018-19 season.
Junior guard Chris Lykes (16.2 ppg, 3.2 apg in 2018-19), a preseason All-ACC second team selection, is the second-leading returning scorer in the conference behind only Louisville’s Jordan Nwora. UM is No. 65 by Ken Pomeroy entering the season.
Louisville has an 11-4 series advantage over Miami, winning two of the last three matchups. In the last meeting, the Cardinals prevailed 90-73 in the KFC Yum! Center (1-6-19) as UofL erased a 15-point first-half deficit when Jordan Nwora scored 18 of this 20 points in the first period. Malik Williams produced his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan McMahon added 12 points and a career-high nine assists.
CARD FILES
- Louisville has won its last 15 straight season openers and 24 of its last 26. This is just the third time in the last 14 years that the Cardinals have opened the season away from home.
- Louisville has won its conference opening game in nine of the last 11 seasons and six of the last seven. Louisville has won its first conference road game in nine of the last 12 seasons.
- Louisville’s Nov. 5 season opener at Miami will be the earliest season opener in UofL history and the first time the Cards have opened the season with a conference foe since 1981.
- Louisville’s No. 5 preseason Associated Press ranking is the highest the Cardinals have been ranked in the preseason since 2013 when UofL opened the year ranked third. It is the fifth time in the last 10 years that UofL has been ranked among the top 10 preseason. The Cardinals are also ranked fifth in the USA Today coaches poll.
- UofL will play 12 games this season against teams ranked among the nation’s Top 25 or those receiving votes in the preseason Associated Press poll, including six games among teams in the top 13.
- Jordan Nwora was selected to the five-person preseason Associated Press All-America team. The 2019 preseason ACC Player of the Year is the first UofL player to receive the preseason AP honor since Montrezl Harrell was named to the preseason AP team prior to the 2014-15 season. He is also a first-team choice byThe Sporting News, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and Blue Ribbon.
- Ryan McMahon, Dwayne Sutton and Malik Williams were elected team captains by a vote of their teammates.
- Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 17 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).
GAME 1
Date: Nov. 5, 2019
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Site: Watsco Center (7,972), Coral Gables, Fla.
Television: ACC Network – Steve Schlanger, play-by-play; Cory Alexander, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Jody Demling, analyst (Sirius channel 133, XM 193, Internet 955)
Series History: UofL leads 11-4 (5-0 in Louisville, 5-4 in Coral Gables, 1-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 90, Miami 73 (Jan. 6, 2019 at KFC Yum! Center)
UL National Ranking: 5th USA Today, 5th Associated Press
Officials: Mike Eades, Ted Valentine, Ron Groover
Next UofL Game: Nov. 10 vs. Youngstown State, KFC Yum! Center, 2 p.m. ET (Regional Sports Networks)
