Highlights, Photos and Notes: Louisville 88, SMU 74

The highlights, photo gallery plus team & player notes from the Cardinals' win over the Mustangs.
Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) celebrates slamming the ball home for two against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.
Jan. 31, 2026
Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) celebrates slamming the ball home for two against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program was able to bounce back and secure a home victory on Saturday, coming out on top with a comeback 88-74 win over SMU.

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 Adrian Wooley, Isaac McKneely, Ryan Conwell, J’Vonne Hadley and Sananda Fru for the eighth time this season. The group is now 4-4 together.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN: SMU came out hot in the first five minutes, taking an 11-4 lead against the Cards. The momentum shifted when the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run, and by the end of the half, Louisville battled to come within three points of the Mustangs at the break.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN: The Cards kept the momentum by using a 10-0 run beginning at 9:32 to take control of the game at 71-62. Louisville went on a 10-2 run between 5:00 and 1:42 to seal the deal.
  • Louisville shot 49.2% (31 of 63) from the field, 28.6% (10 of 35) from deep and 69.6% (16 of 23) from the free-throw line.
  • The Cardinals are now 15-0 when leading in the game with five minutes of play left.
  • The Cards outscored the Mustangs in bench points, 47-5.

Player Notes:

  • J'Vonne Hadley notched 10 points, four rebounds and one assist.. This brings Hadley's record to 39 games in his Cardinal career with double digit points
  • Mikel Brown Jr. came off the bench to d the team in points today with 20, tying the Louisville record for most 20-point games as a freshman (5). He also recorded two rebounds and one assist.
  • Khani Rooths forward tallied his second double- of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists after missing four games due to illness
  • Kobe Rodgers ended the game with seven points, three rebounds and four assists all in just 12 minutes of game play.
  • Ryan Conwell put up his 19th double-digit point game (12) while donning the Louisville jersey. His points went along with five rebounds and three assists..
  • Isaac McKneely tallied 14 points, going 5 of 10 from the field. Four of those field goals came from behind the arc, while also recording three rebounds and one assist.

Gallery:

Photos courtesy of Scott Utterback: Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

Louisville
Louisville Cardinals guard J'vonne Hadley (1) tries to make the basket against Southern Methodist University Mustangs center Samet Yigitoglu (24) Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) slams the ball home for two against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals guard J'vonne Hadley (1) makes the basket against Southern Methodist University Mustangs center Jaden Toombs (10) Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey disagreed with a call by the ref against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Milt Wagner held the trophy the received for the 1986 National Champion Louisville Cardinal. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Robbie Valentine spoke as the 1986 National Champion Louisville Cardinal where honored at half time of the game versus SMU Saturday at KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) celebrates making the shot against Southern Methodist University Mustangs forward B.J. Davis-Ray (9) Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) makes the shot against Southern Methodist University Mustangs forward B.J. Davis-Ray (9) Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) celebrates making the shot against Southern Methodist University Mustangs forward B.J. Davis-Ray (9) Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) celebrates slamming the ball home for two against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Louisville
Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) celebrates slamming the ball home for two against SMU Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Jan. 31, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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(Photo of Khani Rooths: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via 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