Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Indiana Hoosiers

The Cardinals kick off their run in the Battle 4 Atlantis against the Hoosiers.

Nov 22, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Reyne Smith (6) reacts during the second half against the Winthrop Eagles at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Winthrop 76-61. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Louisville Cardinals (3-1, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

- Tipoff: Wednesday, November 27 at 12:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Imperial Arena in Nassau, The Bahamas
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Indiana -3.0
- All-Time Series: Indiana Leads 12-9
- Last Meeting: Indiana won 74-66 on Nov. 20, 2023 (Madison Square Garden - New York, N.Y.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• F Noah Waterman (6-11, 230, 6th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Indiana

• G Myles Rice (6-3, 185, R-So.)
• G Kanaan Carlyle (6-3, 182, So.)
• F Mackenzie Mgbako (6-9, 222, So.)
• F Malik Reneau (6-9, 232, Jr.)
• C Oumar Ballo (7-0, 265, R-Sr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Hoosiers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Indiana

Additional Coverage

• Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey, G Chucky Hepburn Preview Battle 4 Atlantis

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville has played in the Battle 4 Atlantis twice before and has a 6-2 on-court record in the in-season tournament. The Cardinals made it to the championship game in both 2012 and 2016, but fell to Duke 76-71 and Baylor 66-63, respectively, in those contests.
• Seven of the previous 21 meetings between Louisville and Indiana came with Denny Crum and Bobby Knight at the helm of their programs; UofL logging a 4-3 edge in that time. Both legendary coaches passed away in 2023.
• As of Nov. 24, Louisville is sixth in the country in three point attempts per game (34.0), seventh in turnovers forced per game (19.0) and 14th in the country in turnover margin (6.8).
• Against Winthrop on Nov. 22, Louisville logged 10 blocks, including seven in the first half. Sophomore James Scott blocked five on his own. The 10 total, seven in a half and Scott’s five were all the first time those feats happened for the Cardinals since March 7, 2018 against Florida State.
• Louisville’s 48 first-half points against Bellarmine on Nov. 19 were the most since leading Eastern Kentucky 50-32 at halftime on Dec. 14, 2019.
• The 48-point victory over Morehead State on Nov. 4 was Louisville’s largest margin of victory since a 104-54 win vs. Southern on Nov. 13, 2018, and largest in a season opener since a 92 38 win vs. South Alabama on Nov. 18, 2001.
• Louisville was selected ninth in the ACC Preseason Media Poll.
• The Cardinals received four votes in the preseason AP Poll released on October 14. That is the first time Louisville has received votes in a national poll since Nov. 29, 2021.
• Louisville has the chance to play eight ranked teams all before January 2, including three teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.
• Head coach Pat Kelsey has won 11 total conference championships across his 261-122 career record, including four NCAA Tournament bids. Kelsey has recorded winning seasons in 11 of his 12 complete seasons as a head coach.
• Last time out: Louisville capped off their four-game home stand to kick off the 2024-25 season with a 76-61 victory over Winthrop.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Louisville used a 14-3 run from 06:59 to 03:57 to stretch their lead to 10. During the run, seven points were earned at the charity stripe, capped off by three-pointer. The Cardinals’ ended the half on a 6-2 run to give them a 35-27 advantage at the break.
• Both teams combined for 24 turnovers in the first half, accumulating more turnovers than made field goals (combined 22-60 on the half)
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: Louisville broke off a 12-6 run midway through the half to stretch their lead to 17, the largest of the game with 4:57 left to play. UofL ended the game on a 7-2 run to secure a 76-61 victory.
• Louisville shot 26-54 for 48.1% from the field, while shooting 7-26 for 26.9% from behind the arc, and shot 17-26 from the charity stripe.
• The Cardinals’ 10 shots blocked are its most in a game without a blocked shot by the opponent since a 96-79 victory over Maryland on December 10, 1991.

Indiana

• No. 16/18 Indiana (4-0) defeated UNC Greensboro by a score of 69-58 on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice scored a game-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds and six assists. He is the first Hoosier to post a 20-5-5 (points-rebounds-assists since Trayce Jackson-Davis in the 2023 NCAA Tournament against Kent State.
• Freshman wing Bryson Tucker scored 14 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. He added three rebounds in 25 minutes of run.
• Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored a career-high 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc in Indiana’s victory over SIUE on Nov. 6 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo swatted a career-high-matching six shots against South Carolina (Nov. 16). The Koulikoro, Mali, native has blocked 151 shots in his career. Against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 10), Ballo recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks in 27 minutes. He shot 8-of-10 from the field in the Indiana victory. He is one of three players (Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton; Danny Wolf, Michigan) this season to post a line of 17-9-3 or better while shooting at least 80.0% from the floor.
• Fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway posted nine assists in 17 minutes off the bench in Indiana’s 80-61 season-opening win over SIUE in Bloomington. In the last 25 seasons of major conference basketball, Gallo is the 10th player to have at least nine assists in 17 minutes or less. He is the first player to achieve the feat since Vanderbilt guard Carter Josephs on Feb. 22, 2014.
• Junior forward Malik Reneau is averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game through the first four games of the season. The Miami, Fla., native is shooting 51.3% (20-of-39) from the floor and 86.7% (13-of-15) from the free throw line in 27.8 minutes per game.
• Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako (18 points, 7 rebounds), sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo (17, 9), junior forward Malik Reneau (17, 6), and freshman wing Bryson Tucker (12) combined to score 64 points to lead Indiana to a dominant defeat of Eastern Illinois by a score of 90-55 on Sunday, Nov. 10, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• Indiana went on the road to defeated No. 12/12 Tennessee in a charity exhibition by a score of 66-62 on Sunday, Oct. 27. The defense held the Volunteers to 18-of-59 (30.5%) shooting from the floor, 8-of-35 (22.9%) shooting from the 3-point line, and forced 15 turnovers.
• The Indiana men’s basketball program has rostered 34 McDonald’s All-Americans since the debut of the game in the late 70’s. Indiana ranks sixth behind Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, and Kansas for most commitments from the McDonald’s All-American game.

(Photo of Reyne Smith: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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