Preview: Louisville Faces Tennessee in Ranked Road Matchup

The Cardinals head to Rocky Top for a top-20 showdown with the Volunteers.

Nov 9, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) shoots against Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Gainey (11) and guard Jahmai Mashack (15) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Tennessee defeated Louisville 77-55. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (9-1, 0-0 ACC) at No. 20 Tennessee Volunteers (7-3, 0-0 SEC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Tennessee -1.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville Leads 12-9
- Last Meeting: Tennessee won 77-55 on Nov. 9, 2024 (KFC Yum! Center)

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.)

Tennessee

• G Ja'Kobi Gillespie (6-1, 188, Sr.)
• G Bishop Boswell (6-4, 204, So.)
• F Cade Phillips (6-9, 221, Jr.)
• F Nate Ament (6-10, 207, Fr.)
• F Felix Okpara (6-11, 243, Sr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville men’s basketball is due for its second true road game of the season as it takes on Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday evening. Louisville has won back-to-back games, most recently defeating Memphis 99-73 on Saturday afternoon at home. The Volunteers enter the contest on a three-game ski, most recently falling to Illinois in a neutral site game 75-62 on Dec. 6.
• This game wraps up a home-and-home contract between the two programs. Louisville leads the all-time series 12-9 with a 5-1 mark when playing in Knoxville. This is the first trip to Tennessee the Cards have taken since Jan. 25, 2004 when UofL left with a 65-62 victory. The series between the two teams dates all the way back to 1913. Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 0-1 against Tennessee in his career.
• In the last 365 days, Louisville has only lost four games total, compiling a 30-4 record from Dec. 15, 2024 to Dec. 15, 2025.
• Junior Bridgeman's #10 jersey is the sixth Louisville men's basketball jersey number retired by the program.
• Against Memphis on Dec. 13, Louisville had four different players with at least 3FG apiece for the first time since Nov. 22, 2010 when the Cards played Chattanooga. It was the second time in program history that six different players made at least 2FG, the first time being at WKU on Dec. 22, 2010.
• 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 three 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 36-0 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.
• 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 was the third team in DI this season to make at least 20 3-pointers against another DI team.
• 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.
• Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. scored 29 points against Kentucky on Nov. 11, 2025, the fourth-most points in a game by a Louisville freshman ever.
• 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. Louisville was picked second overall in the league by voting media members.
• 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.
• Louisville is one of the older teams in the country this season. When theCardinals tipped off the season on Nov. 3, the average age of the 15-man roster was 21.3 years of age.
• UofL has three Cardinals on the roster that have scored over 1,000 DI points: Ryan Conwell (1,547), Isaac McKneely (1,203) and J’Vonne Hadley (1,116).

Tennessee

• This is the 22nd matchup between the two schools, with Tennessee winning the first six between 1913 and 1922, but Louisville claiming 12 of the last 15.
• UT went 1-11 in the series from 1927 to 2008. Under Rick Barnes, it is 2-0 since, with a 92-81 win on 11/21/18 in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, N.Y., and a 77-55 road triumph on 11/9/24.
• Tennessee last hosted Louisville in Knoxville on 1/25/04, dropping a 65-62 decision to the nation's fifth-ranked team.
• This is the first meeting in series history with both sides ranked.
• UT is 126-102 all-time versus the ACC current membership, beating all but one of them, Notre Dame (0-1), at least once.
• Rick Barnes is 85-78 against current ACC members. He is 15-6 at UT, including 8-2 over the past five seasons (2021-26). 
• Located 240 miles apart, Louisville (third) and Tennessee (fifth) play in two of the five largest college basketball arenas in the country.
• Former Tennessee head coach Wade Houston, who led the Volunteers from 1989-94, is a Louisville alumnus who worked as an assistant for the Cardinals for 13 seasons, 1976-89, before coming to Rocky Top. Houston, who hails from nearby Alcoa, Tenn., was the first black head men's basketball coach in the SEC and, alongside two 1962 classmates, one of the first three black men's basketball players at Louisville.
• In March 2019, Rick Barnes instituted the Wade Houston Leadership Award for the team member who best exemplified leadership, a team-first approach and exemplary work ethic.
• Allan Houston, Wade's son, is UT's all-time leading scorer with 2,801 points, second in SEC history. He is one of two—the other is fellow VFL Ernie Grunfeld—four-time First Team All-SEC choices in league history. Houston is among six UT letter winners from Louisville.
• With 843 wins, Rick Barnes co-leads active DI coaches and is coninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• Tennessee is playing its sixth straight Power Five opponent in non-conference action.
• The Volunteers' 41-game non-conference home winning streak is two shy, per Elias, of the program record.
• Over its 86-week streak in the AP Poll, since the start of the 2021- 22 season, UT has played just 19 games as a lower-ranked team. It is 11-8 in those matchups.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights. The Vols finished fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
• The Vols' 208 wins the last nine years (2017-26) rank eighth in DI Only Houston (253), Gonzaga (249), Duke (230), Kansas (220), Purdue (216), Auburn (210) and Saint Mary's (209) own more. The rest of the top 10 is Liberty (205) and Drake (204).
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason victories (23), plus sits a close second in total victories and overall winning percentage with a 208-77 (.730) mark. In that period, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same span, the Vols are one of two SEC teams with 195-plus wins or an overall winning percentage above .700, alongside Auburn (210-74; .739).
• Over SEC play across the same period, Tennessee (98-45; .685) is first in league victories and league winning percentage. Only Kentucky (97-46; .678), Auburn (96-48; .667) and Alabama (91-53; .632) are also at 85-plus wins and/or a .600 clip.
• In just the last five seasons (2021-26), the Vols own a 116-39 (.748) overall record. That is tied for the most wins and good for the second-best winning percentage in the SEC, tying Auburn (116-36; .763) in the former and closely trailing it in the latter.
• In that same time, Tennessee (51-21; .708) is cosecond, alongside Alabama (51-21; .708), in the SEC in both league victories and league winning percentage. It is behind only Auburn (53-19; .736).

(Photo of J'Vonne Hadley: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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