Preview: Louisville Renews Rivalry Against Memphis

The Cardinals welcome the Tigers to the KFC Yum! Center for their first meeting in eight years.

Louisville Cardinals center Aly Khalifa (15) celebrates with Louisville Cardinals guard Isaac McKneely (10) as the Cards make a stop in the second half against Eastern Michigan Monday night, Nov. 24, 2025 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Memphis Tigers (4-4, 0-0 American) vs. No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (8-1, 0-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, December 13 at 3:30 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -13.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville Leads 54-36
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 81-72 on Dec. 16, 2017 (Madison Square Garden)

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.)
• F J'Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, 6th)
• F/C Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, Jr.)

Memphis

• G Dug McDaniel (5-11, 170, Sr.)
• G Quante Berry (6-4, 185, R-Jr.)
• G Zach Davis (6-7, 205, Sr.)
• F William Whorton (6-8, 210, R-So.)
• C Simon Majok (7-1, 220, Fr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Tigers, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Memphis

Game Notes

Louisville

• The Cardinals are coming off a bounce back, neutral site win over Indiana while Memphis enters the matchup from three straight victories, the most recent being over Baylor on Saturday. Louisville is 54-36 all-time against Memphis with a 31-12 mark at home.
• Head coach Pat Kelsey has never faced the Tigers in his head coaching career.
• Junior Bridgeman's #10 jersey will become the sixth Louisville men's basketball jersey number retired by the program.
• Louisville netted 20 3-pointers against NJIT on Nov. 26, the second-most made 3's in a single game in program history. It's just the second time ever the Cardinals have made at least 20 3's in a game. UofL is the third team in DI this season to make at least 20 3-pointers against another DI team.
• Louisville's back-to-back 40-point wins (87-46 over Eastern Michigan & 104-47 over NJIT) is the program's first set of backto-back 40-point victories since 2012-13.
• Senior guard Ryan Conwell is the only DI men's basketball player since at least 2010-11 to log at least 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes or less, according to Sports Reference. He notched that stat line against NJIT on Nov. 26.
• Louisville has had two games of at least 24 assists, the first time since 2010-11 that the program has had multiple games of 24+ assists; the Cardinals had five games of at 24+ assists that season.
• Louisville is 35-0 under Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.
• With two 50-point victories on the season (104-45 vs. South Carolina State & 104-47 vs. NJIT), it marks the first time Louisville has had two 50-point victories in one season since 2004-05.
• A pair of Cardinals represent Louisville on the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List, Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List and the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List; both Ryan Conwell and Mikel Brown Jr. were named to the esteemed lists.
• 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.
• 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.
• There were 14 players returning to DI this season that had 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.
• Seven of Louisville’s 2025-26 opponents are or were ranked in the AP Poll, with five more receiving votes.
• UofL has a 266-84 record (.760) against non-conference opponents over the last 25 seasons (includes postseason), including a 194-27 record in home regular season non-conference games.
• Louisville led 59-15 at halftime against South Carolina State on Nov. 3. The 44-point halftime lead was the largest in program history. The Cardinals are 30-3 all-time under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading at halftime.
• The Cardinals landed two players on the Preseason All-ACC First Team, the only program to do so in 2025. Both Mikel Brown Jr., and Ryan Conwell earned the First Team nod.
• There are 14 players who returned to DI this season that started the season with at least 175 made 3-pointers with a career 3-point field goal percentage of 38% or more; Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely are two of those 14 players.
• UofL has three Cardinals on the roster that have scored over 1,000 DI points: Ryan Conwell (1,509), Isaac McKneely (1,186) and J’Vonne Hadley (1,092).

Memphis

• The Memphis Tigers are in their 105th season of basketball and their 13th as a member of the American Conference.
• The Tigers were picked as the favorite in the American Preseason Coaches poll with 143 total points and 11 first-place votes. South Florida was second with 128 points and the final two first-place nods.
• Memphis heads to the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday for a nationally-televised matchup with No. 11 Louisville, marking the first meeting between the programs in eight years.
• Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN, and the energy around this renewal feels more like a reunion than a regular-season game.
• Memphis and Louisville share one of college basketball’s richest histories, built across four conferences, decades of classic showdowns, and 90 total meetings.
• The two programs last crossed paths in December 2017, but their competitive roots stretch deep, from the Metro Conference glory days to high-stakes battles in Conference USA and the American.
• The series resumes Saturday as part of a newly announced six-year agreement committing both schools to an annual matchup through 2030-31.
• Louisville will visit FedExForum next season, with additional future sites being finalized.
• Memphis guard Dug McDaniel is one of just two Division I players to rank top three in their conference in assists per game (6.4; 1st), steals per game (1.9; 2nd) and free-throw percentage (88.9, 3rd). The other is SMU’s Boopie Miller.
• The number of Division I teams with zero returning players on the roster this season. Memphis and Baylor are two of the three, joining Miami. Only Memphis and Southern Miss have 14 or more transfers in D-I.
• Each of the last seven meetings between Memphis and Louisville have been decided by single digits. The Tigers have not had eight straight games decided by fewer than 10 points against any opponent over the last 45 seasons.
• Memphis is getting production on the glass from all over the roster this season, with 11 different Tigers averaging at least 2.0 rebounds per game. Only three Division I programs - Alabama (14), Jacksonville (13) and UT Martin (13) - feature more.
• Memphis has grabbed at least nine offensive rebounds in 22-straight games, the second-longest active streak in Division I (trailing only St. John’s at 23). It marks the Tigers’ longest run since a 29-game streak that concluded in November 2007.
• Senior guard Zach Davis delivered one of the most productive non-conference performances by a Tiger in decades against Baylor. His 23 points, 13 rebounds and eight made free throws make him just the second Memphis player in the last 30 seasons to hit all those marks in a non-league game - joining Will Barton, who last accomplished the feat in December 2011 at Louisville.

(Photo of Khani Rooths, Aly Khalifa and Isaac McKneely: Matt Stone - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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