Conference season comes early this year

Louisville faces conference opponent Miami in season opener

Conference basketball comes early for Louisville men’s basketball this season. The Cardinals begin the year with an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) road game against Miami Nov. 5.

It’s the earliest season opener in program history and first time Louisville has started the season against a conference opponent since 1981. In his second season as Louisville’s head coach, Chris Mack said there was more urgency to have more in the playbook for his team in the season opener.

“It’s very unique,” Mack said. “It’s a challenge for our team. I’m interested to see where we are at.”

Jordan Nwora, a preseason All-American, doesn’t want the team to treat the game against Miami any differently.

“There’s a little more urgency now, but we are treating it like any other game,” Nwora said.

Miami has one of the best guards in the ACC in Chris Lykes. The 5-foot-7 guard scored 18 points in Louisville’s 90-73 victory last season. Mack said Lykes uses craftiness and quickness to score.

Lykes, a preseason All-ACC second team selection, averaged 16.2 points as a sophomore last season.

“He single-handedly put the team on his back (last season against Louisville),” Mack said. “He is a pest defensively. Offensively he is so hard to contain because he is so small.”

Miami was picked ninth in the ACC in the preseason media poll. The Hurricanes went 14-18 last season. Dejan Vasiljevic, a 6-foot-3 guard, joins Lykes in the backcourt after averaging 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season.

“Chris Lykes is really good, he played really well against us last year,” Nwora said. “Overall they’re a solid team.”

After sitting out for precautionary measures against Bellarmine, Steven Enoch is anticipated to play against Miami. The 6-foot-10 center had a thigh bruise suffered in practice and a scrimmage against Ohio State, so he was held out competition against in Louisville’s only exhibition of the preseason.

Louisville tips off at 6:31 p.m. against Miami in a game that will be televised by the ACC Network.