Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs

The Cardinals open up the 2025-26 season by hosting the Bulldogs at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville Cardinals forward Sananda Fru (13) slams down two points as the Cards roll on visiting Bucknell during an exhibition game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Tuesday October 28, 2028. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 MEAC) at No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (0-0, 0-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Monday, November 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -xx.x
- All-Time Series: First Meeting
- Last Meeting: First Meeting

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Mikel Brown Jr. (6-5, 190, Fr.)
• G Isaac McKneely (6-4, 195, Sr.)
• G Ryan Conwell (6-4, 215, Sr.)
• G/F J'Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, 6th)
• F/C Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, Jr.)

South Carolina State

• G Jayden Johnson (6-1, 165, So.)
• G Florian Tenebay (6-6, 195, Sr.)
• G Colin McKenzie (6-6, 200, Sr.)
• F Chris Parker (6-6, 215, Jr.)
• F James Marrow (6-8, 210, Jr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Bulldogs, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. South Carolina State

Additional Coverage

• Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey Previews SC State
• Report: Louisville Forward Kasean Pryor Out for Season-Opener

Game Notes

Louisville

• Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Preseason Watch List while senior guard Ryan Conwell was named the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Preseason Watch List.
• Louisville returns just a single starter and five Cardinals who have suited up in the Red and Black before. Overall, UofL returns 22.9% of its scoring (628 of 2,747 points), 31.2% of its rebounding (407 of 1,305), 18.3% of its assists (89 of 486) and 25.7% of its minutes (1,807 of 7,025) from the 2024-25 season.
• Head coach Pat Kelsey is the reigning ACC Coach of the Year - he is one of 10 active DI head coaches that have earned a Coach of the Year honor in three or more DI conferences.
• Louisville landed two Cards on the ACC Preseason First Team. Both senior guard Ryan Conwell and freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., earned the nod from the league. Louisville as a program was picked second in the league.
• There are 14 players returning to DI this season that have made at least 175 3-pointers with a career 3-point field goal percentage of 38% or more; Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely are two of those 14.
• The Cardinals were ranked No. 11 in the country in the Preseason AP Poll released on Oct. 13. It was the first time Louisville was ranked in the preseason poll since being No. 5 at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. That team went on to be ranked No. 1 for two weeks and finished the COVID-shortened year at No. 14.
• Currently, six of Louisville’s 2025-26 opponents were ranked in the AP Preseason Poll, with four more receiving votes.
• Louisville has 10 newcomers on the 2025-26 roster including redshirt seniors Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers who redshirted the entire 2024-25 season due to injury.
• Louisville is 27-0 under Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.
• In Louisville’s two exhibitions, Ryan Conwell led the team in scoring with 20.5 ppg over the two contests while sophomore Adrian Wooley logged an average of 6.5 rebounds per game.

South Carolina State

• South Carolina State enters year four under head coach Erik Martin. Last season, the Bulldogs started at just 9-12, but ended the regular season on a nine-game winning streak to tying Norfolk State for the MEAC regular season title.
• SC State took down Coppin State 68-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 MEAC Tournament, then defeated NC Central 88-67 in the semifinals. However, they fell to Norfolk State 66-65 in the MEAC Tournament championship to barely miss out on the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bulldogs finished the 2025-26 season at 20-13 overall, posting their best year since going 20-11 during the 2002-03 season. Their 11-3 mark in MEAC play was also their most conference wins since going 12-4 in 2015-16.
• Sophomore guard Jayden Johnson was voted as the MEAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. Last season as a true freshman, he averaged 4.9 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 32 games and 12 starts.
• South Carolina State was voted to finish third in the 2025-26 MEAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish.
• Martin enters year four at SC State with an overall head coaching record of 39-57, but his program has seen a year-over-year increase. The Bulldogs went 5-26 in year one during the 2022-23 season, then 14-18 for Martin's second season before going 20-13 last year.

(Photo of Sananda Fru: Matt Stone - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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