2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record13–7 (8–5 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaKFC Yum! Center
Seasons
2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Virginia 13 – 4   .765 18 – 7   .720
No. 14 Florida State 11 – 4   .733 18 – 7   .720
No. 25 Virginia Tech 9 – 4   .692 15 – 7   .682
Georgia Tech † 11 – 6   .647 17 – 9   .654
Clemson 10 – 6   .625 16 – 8   .667
North Carolina 10 – 6   .625 18 – 11   .621
Louisville 8 – 5   .615 13 – 7   .650
Syracuse 9 – 7   .563 18 – 10   .643
NC State 9 – 8   .529 14 – 11   .560
Duke 9 – 9   .500 13 – 11   .542
Notre Dame 7 – 11   .389 11 – 15   .423
Pittsburgh 6 – 10   .375 10 – 12   .455
Miami (FL) 4 – 15   .211 10 – 17   .370
Wake Forest 3 – 15   .167 6 – 16   .273
Boston College 2 – 11   .154 4 – 16   .200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Mack.

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cardinals finished the season 13–7, 8–5 to finish in seventh place in ACC play. They lost to Duke in the second round of the ACC tournament. They were listed as an alternate team for the NCAA tournament if a team were unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues.[1] The team declined an invitation to the NIT prior to the NCAA Tournament field being announced.[2][3] When all teams were able to participate in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals season ended.[4]

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2019–20 season with of 24–7, 15–5 to finish in a tie for second place in ACC play. As the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament, they were scheduled to play Syracuse before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The NCAA tournament was later also canceled due to the pandemic.[6]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Lamarr Kimble 0 G 6'0" 185 Graduate Student Philadelphia, PA Graduated
Keith Oddo 1 G 6'2" 180 Graduate Student Roanoke, VA Graduated
Darius Perry 2 G 6'2" 195 Junior Marietta, GA Transferred to UCF
Grant Williams 4 G 5'11" 165 Junior Crestwood, KY Walk-on
Steven Enoch 23 C 6'10" 255 Redshirt Senior Norwalk, CT Graduated
Dwayne Sutton 24 G 6'5" 220 Redshirt Senior Louisville, KY Graduated
Ryan McMahon 30 G 6'0" 185 Redshirt Senior Sarasota, FL Graduated
Jordan Nwora 33 F 6'7" 225 Junior Buffalo, NY Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 45th overall by Milwaukee Bucks

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Carlik Jones 1 G 6'1" 185 Graduate Student Cincinnati, OH Radford
Charles Minlend 21 G 6'4" 220 Graduate Student Concord, NC San Francisco

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
D'Andre Davis
SF 		Indianapolis, IN Lawrence Central High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oct 20, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
JJ Traynor
PF 		Bardstown, KY Bardstown High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oct 30, 2019 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Gabe Wizniter
C 		Wallhalla, SC Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jun 23, 2020 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Louisville Commitments". Rivals.com.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com.
  • "ESPN- Louisville Cardinals Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Carlik Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Aiken
Radford 		Cincinnati, OH
F 2 Sam Bearden (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Holy Cross Louisville, KY
C 3 Hogan Orbaugh (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Zionsville Zionsville, IN
G 4 Brad Colbert (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr International Sports Academy Loveland, OH
F/C 5 Malik Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Snider Fort Wayne, IN
G/F 10 Samuell Williamson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Rockwall Rockwall, TX
F 11 Quinn Slazinski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Huntington Prep Houston, TX
F 12 JJ Traynor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Bardstown Bardstown, KY
G 13 David Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Trinity Louisville, KY
G/F 14 Dre Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Lawrence Central Indianapolis, IN
G 15 Drew Schultz (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Rockwall Rockwall, TX
G 20 Josh Nickelberry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Northwood Temple Academy Fayetteville, NC
G 21 Charles Minlend 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS Concord
San Francisco 		Concord, NC
F 22 Aidan Igiehon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Lawrence Woodmere Academy Dublin, Ireland
C 23 Gabe Wiznitzer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Hargrave Military Academy Walhalla, SC
F 24 Jae'Lyn Withers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Fr Cleveland Heights Charlotte, NC
G 30 Ashton Myles-Devore (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Woodford County Versailles, KY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 20, 2020

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
4:00 p.m., ACCN 		Evansville W 79–44  1–0
  18 – Jones   8 – Jones   7 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (2,956)
Louisville, KY
November 27, 2020*
4:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Seton Hall W 71–70  2–0
  18 – Jones   11 – Jones   6 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (2,988)
Louisville, KY
November 29, 2020*
6:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		Prairie View A&M W 86–64  3–0
  20 – Withers   9 – Withers   6 – Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (2,934)
Louisville, KY
December 1, 2020*
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		Western Kentucky W 75–54  4–0
  21 – Davis   9 – Withers   8 – Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (3,013)
Louisville, KY
December 4, 2020*
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		UNC Greensboro Canceled due to COVID-19 issues[7] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
December 16, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 23 NC State Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[8] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
December 19, 2020*
12:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 23 at No. 12 Wisconsin
ACC–Big Ten Challenge 		L 48–85  4–1
  12 – Johnson   7 – Williamson   4 – Johnson  Kohl Center (0)
Madison, WI
December 22, 2020
7:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		at Pittsburgh W 64–54  5–1
(1–0) 		 17 – Johnson   12 – Williamson   7 – Jones  Peterson Events Center (0)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 26, 2020*
1:00 p.m., ESPN 		Kentucky
Battle for the Bluegrass 		W 62–59  6–1
  20 – Jones   9 – Withers   4 – Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (3,281)
Louisville, KY
January 2, 2021
12:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		at Boston College W 76–64  7–1
(2–0) 		 20 – Johnson   9 – Jones   6 – Jones  Conte Forum (0)
Chestnut Hill, MA
January 6, 2021
6:30 p.m., ACCN 		No. 19 Virginia Tech W 73–71  8–1
(3–0) 		 17 – Tied   12 – Withers   3 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (2,966)
Louisville, KY
January 13, 2021
8:30 p.m., ACCN 		No. 16 at Wake Forest W 77–65  9–1
(4–0) 		 23 – Jones   11 – Williamson   9 – Johnson  LJVM Coliseum (71)
Winston-Salem, NC
January 16, 2021
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 16 at Miami (FL) L 72–78  9–2
(4–1) 		 25 – Jones   11 – Withers   7 – Jones  Watsco Center (0)
Coral Gables, FL
January 18, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		Florida State L 65–78  9–3
(4–2) 		 17 – Jones   9 – Withers   3 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (3,024)
Louisville, KY
January 23, 2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		Duke W 70–65  10–3
(5–2) 		 24 – Jones   8 – Johnson   5 – Tied  KFC Yum! Center (3,219)
Louisville, KY
January 27, 2021
9:00 p.m., RSN 		No. 25 at Clemson L 50–54  10–4
(5–3) 		 11 – Jones   12 – Withers   3 – Jones  Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876)
Clemson, SC
January 30, 2021
12:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		No. 25 Boston College Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[9] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
February 1, 2021
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		Georgia Tech
Makeup from Jan. 9 postponement 		W 74–58  11–4
(6–3) 		 24 – Johnson   18 – Williamson   8 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (2,868)
Louisville, KY
February 3, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Syracuse Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[10] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
February 6, 2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		at No. 14 Virginia Postponed due to COVID-19 issues John Paul Jones Arena 
Charlottesville, VA
February 10, 2021
9:00 p.m., ACCN 		Pittsburgh Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[11] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
February 17, 2021
6:30 p.m., ACCN 		Syracuse Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[12] KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
February 20, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN 		at North Carolina L 54–99  11–5
(6–4) 		 13 – Jones   10 – Williamson   4 – Johnson  Dean Smith Center (0)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 23, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		Notre Dame W 69–57  12–5
(7–4) 		 18 – Jones   13 – Withers   4 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (2,948)
Louisville, KY
February 27, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN 		at Duke W 80–73 OT 13–5
(8–4) 		 25 – Jones   12 – Williamson   4 – Jones  Cameron Indoor Stadium (0)
Durham, NC
March 3, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 22 Virginia Tech Canceled due to COVID-19 issues[13] Cassell Coliseum 
Blacksburg, VA
March 6, 2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 21 Virginia L 58–68  13–6
(8–5) 		 14 – Johnson   10 – Williamson   6 – Jones  KFC Yum! Center (4,812)
Louisville, KY
ACC tournament
March 10, 2021
6:30 p.m., ACCN 		(7) vs. (10) Duke
Second round 		L 56–70  13–7
  14 – Johnson   11 – Johnson   3 – Jones  Greensboro Coliseum (2,820)
Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[14][15]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
APRVRV2523RVRVRV16RV25RVRVRV—RV——Not released
CoachesRVRV2422RVRV2518RV23RVRVRV—RV———

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ "Louisville is First Alternate for NCAA men's basketball tournament".
  2. ^ "NCAA tournament snubs Louisville, Duke among teams to turn down NIT". Yahoo! Sports.
  3. ^ Russell, Shannon. "Louisville basketball denied bid into 2021 NCAA Tournament, won't accept NIT invite". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Conway, Tyler. "All 68 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams Cleared to Play After COVID-19 Testing". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Statement from ACC on Men's Basketball Tournament". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  6. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "UofL Pauses Men's Basketball Activities, UNCG Game Cancelled". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "NC State at Louisville Men's Basketball Game Postponed". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "ACC Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "Louisville at Syracuse Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "Pittsburgh at Louisville Men's Basketball Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 7, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "Syracuse at Louisville Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  13. ^ "Louisville at Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Game Canceled". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  15. ^ "2020-21 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.