Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Jackson State Tigers

The Cardinals welcome the Tigers to the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville Cardinals guard Kobe Rodgers (11) during the game against South Carolina State at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Monday night, Nov. 3, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jackson State Tigers (0-1, 0-0 SWAC) at No. 11 Louisville Cardinals (1-0, 0-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Thursday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network Extra
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -28.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville Leads 3-0
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 62-45 on Nov. 20, 2010 (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.)
• G/F J'Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, 6th)
• F/C Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, Jr.)

Jackson State

• G Daeshun Ruffin (5-10, 157, Sr.)
• G Dorian McMillian (6-3, 169, So.)
• G/F Jayme Mitchell (6-5, 200, R-Jr.)
• F Kobe Butler (6-7, 201, Fr.)
• F Devin Ree (6-9, 177, Sr.)

Comparison

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

Game Notes

Louisville

• A pair of Cardinals represent Louisville on the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List as well as the Oscar Robertson Trophy 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.
• 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 28-0 under Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.

Jackson State

• Several Tigers made their debut on Monday against Illinois including Mike Williams, the son of Mo Williams, who came off the bench to score nine points in the loss. Other Tigers who made their debut were freshmen Deyan Kolev, Kobe Butler, and Kedrick Simmons; while transfer Devin Ree led all scorers with 19 points.
• Speaking of Ree... he returns to the place he started his career - Louisville. While a Cardinal, the now-senior played one season [2022-23] and saw action in 16 games, scoring 14 total points.
• The Tigers return a pair of starters from last season in Daeshun Ruffin and Dorian McMillian, with McMillian earning Freshman of the Year honors last season. He returns as a Preseason Second-Team selection, while Ruffin returns as the top scorer in the conference and was named Preseason Player of the Year.
• Head coach Mo Williams will have two sons on the bench [at least at some point this season] with his son KyDarrius serving as a an assistant coach, while another of his sons - Mike - comes in as a highly-touted recruit from Gernantown High School.
• A trio of players come to Jackson State this year out of the transfer portal - the same place that produced Shannon Grant and Romelle Mansel. The trio - Devin Ree [Louisiana Tech], Dionjahe Thomas [Southern] and Raevon Thomas [Central State] - are all listed at 6-8 or taller.
• The Tigers continue their swing of non-conference games on the road and will face seven teams who played in the NCAA Tournament last season including a pair of Final Four teams (Auburn and Houston), and the 2025 national runner-up (Houston). They will also be playing five teams ranked in the preseason top 25 this season beginning with No. 17 Illinois on Nov. 3 in the season opener. They will also face No. 11 Louisville on Nov. 6, No. 20 Auburn on Nov. 19, and No. 14 Arkansas on Nov. 21. The Tigers close out action against ranked teams against No. 2 Houston on Dec. 10.

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

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