No. 12 Louisville can match its best start in five years in a home game against Ohio on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals (3-0) enter the contest with plenty of emotion, having beaten No. 9 Kentucky 96-88 at home on Tuesday. While a disappointment is possible, the players were already talking about what’s next after beating the Wildcats.
“We’re all glad we got the job done, but we also have to keep moving forward,” Ryan Conwell said Tuesday night. “The season is not over. We still have games to play, so we have to continue to prepare every day.”
Conwell scored 24 points against Kentucky, while freshman Mikel Brown Jr. had 29 and dished out five assists. The two guards, who were preseason first-team All-ACC selections, are among six Cardinals averaging double-digit scoring. Brown leads the team with a 19.3 scoring average, with Conwell right behind at 18.3.
Brown is one of six players averaging 19 or more points and six or more assists per game this season. That’s quite a turnaround for a player who shot 2 of 15 and dished out just two assists in an exhibition game against Kansas on Oct. 24.
Coach Pat Kelsey said Brown put a lot of pressure on himself in the game against Kansas, which, while not an official game, was his first in a Louisville uniform.
“He always works hard,” Kelsey said Tuesday. “He’s more mature than his years, but he’s been a monster since that match.”
The Cardinals scored 96 or more points in three straight games for the first time in the shot clock era. The last time Louisville had such a streak occurred in December 1971, when the team achieved it in four straight games.
Not only does Louisville put the ball in the basket, but the Cardinals also take care of their possessions. They committed just six turnovers in the win over Kentucky, making it the fourth time under their second-year coach that the Cardinals have scored 90 or more points while committing seven or fewer turnovers.
The Bobcats (1-2) are coming off a 90-60 loss to Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., on Tuesday. The cross-country travel may have taken a toll on coach Jeff Boals’ team, as Ohio shot just 37.5 percent from the field (24 for 64) and 25 percent from the 3-point arc (6 for 24).
Jackson Paveletzke led the Bobcats with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The senior guard, a preseason first-team All-MAC selection by the conference coaches, scores a game-high 18 points per game.
Aidan Hadaway (15.3 ppg) and Javan Simmons (14 ppg) are also key contributors for a team that was picked to finish fourth in the MAC this season.
“Having a core group back is really important at our level, and you see the best teams in our league keep a core group,” Boals said.
Saturday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for Ohio sophomore Ayden Evans, who played his high school ball in Elizabethtown, Ky., about 45 minutes south of Louisville. The 6-foot-10 sophomore made his season debut in Tuesday’s loss, scoring eight points in 12 minutes.
–Field level media
