Highlights and Notes: Duke 83, Louisville 52

The highlights and team & player notes from the Cardinals' loss to the Blue Devils.
Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drives to the basket as Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images
Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drives to the basket as Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball suffered a humiliating defeat on Monday night, as they fell 83-52 in their rematch at Duke. It marked the worst margin of defeat under second-year head coach Pat Kelsey.

The Atlantic Coast Conference put together a highlight tape of the matchup, which you can see here:

Team Notes:

  • UofL used the starting lineup of Mikel Brown Jr., Isaac McKneely, Ryan Conwell, J’Vonne Hadley and Sananda Fru for the 10th time this season. The group is now 8-2 together.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Duke took a 15-7 lead within the first five minutes of the contest. Louisville slowly chipped away at the Blue Devil lead and with a 14-6 run, over the course of nine minutes, finally taking an advantage of its own at 25-24 with 4:30 to go in the half. Duke retaliated, finishing the half with nine straight points to take a 38-28 edge to the break.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN: The Blue Devils continued to run up the score in the second half, opening on an 8-2 run. Duke’s best lead of the game came at 31 points in the final score.
  • Louisville shot 29.6% (16 of 54) from the field, 32.4% (11 of 34) from deep and 69.2% (9 of 13) from the free-throw line.
  • The Cards were outrebounded 47-26, with a 15-9 margin on the offensive glass.
     

Player Notes:

  • J'Vonne Hadley logged his 38th game in a Cardinal uniform with double-digit points. He scored 11 while pulling down 5 boards.
  • Ryan Conwell had a team-high 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the floor, nailing 4 shots beyond the arc. He added in 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in his 37 minutes on the floor.

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(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr.: Rob Kinnan - Imagn Images)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic