Highlights, Photos and Notes: North Carolina 77, Louisville 74

The highlights, photo gallery plus team & player notes from the Cardinals' win over the Tar Heels.

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) shoots as Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program came up short in yet another road game against a ranked opponent, falling 77-74 to North Carolina on Monday night.

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 17th time this season. The group is now 13-4 together.
• KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Cards used a 9-0 run to take a 20-11 lead at 13:56. The Tar Heels retaliated with a 16-4 run between 11:44 and 6:31 to take a two-point lead of their own, 29-27. North Carolina led at the break 39-38.
• Louisville is now 6-12 when trailing at halftime under Pat Kelsey.
• KEY SECOND HALF RUN: UNC opened up the second half with a 17-2 run to take a commanding 56-40 lead with 13 minutes to go. The Tar Heels held Louisville without a field goal for the first six minutes and 57 seconds of the second half. The Cardinals chipped away at the Tar Heel lead over the next 13 minutes, getting within two of UNC in the final seconds of the game, but was unable to overcome the 16-point deficit.
• Louisville shot 38.8% (26 of 67) from the field, 14 of 39 (35.9%) from deep and 72.7% (8 of 11) from the free-throw line.
• North Carolina outscored the Cards in the paint 40-24.
• Louisville outrebounded the Tar Heels by nine, 41-32.

Player Notes:

• Mikel Brown Jr. scored a team-high 24 points on 9 of 25 shooting, going 6 of 14 from the arc. He played 33 minutes and added in three rebounds and two assists.
• J'Vonne Hadley scored 10 of his 14 total points in the first half, shooting 75% from the
  floor (6-8). He also pulled down six boards.
• Ryan Conwell turned it on in the second half, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the latter part of the game. He went 7 of 19 from the floor while netting four 3-pointers.

Gallery:

Photos courtesy of Bob Donnan (Imagn Images).

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) shoots as Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) shoots as Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) shoots as Louisville Cardinals forward Khani Rooths (9) and guard Ryan Conwell (3) and forward Sananda Fru (13) defend in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Luka Bogavac (44) shoots as Louisville Cardinals forward Vangelis Zougris (53) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) is fouled byLouisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) dribbles as Louisville Cardinals guard Kobe Rodgers (11) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) shoots as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) and forward Zayden High (1) defend in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) passes the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) passes the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jonathan Powell (11) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard J'vonne Hadley (1) and North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jarin Stevenson (15) fight for the ball in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) shoots as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) scores on a reverse layup as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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