Preview: Louisville Hopes to Bounce Back in Road Trip to Clemson

The Cardinals face the Tigers in their penultimate road game of the regular season.

Mar 14, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) drives to the basket against Clemson Tigers forward Ian Schieffelin (4) during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

No. 24 Louisville Cardinals (20-8, 9-6 ACC) at Clemson Tigers (20-8, 10-5 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -2.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville Leads 11-6
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 76-73 on Mar. 14, 2025 (ACC Tournament)

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.)

Clemson

• G Dillon Hunter (6-4, 195, Sr.)
• G Butta Johnson (6-4, 180, Sr.)
• F R.J. Godfrey (6-7, 240, Sr.)
• F Jake Wahlin (6-10, 210, Jr.)
• F Carter Welling (6-11, 240, Jr.)

Comparison

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

Additional Coverage

• Louisville's Defense Regressing Down the Stretch
• How Recent Hiccups Could Impact Louisville's NCAA Tournament Draw
• Advanced Metric Suggests Louisville Could Get Under-Seeded in NCAA Tournament Yet Again
• Watch: Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Preview Clemson
• Louisville, Kelsey Not Letting 'Rat Poison' Impact Them as Postseason Draws Near

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville men’s basketball closes out February with another game on the road, this time at Clemson Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals dropped a road game on Big Monday at North Carolina and looks to get back in the win column Saturday.
• Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 176-69 (.718) all-time conference games as a head coach; he holds an 81-41 (.664) record in league road games.
• Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied Louisville's single-game scoring record with 45 points against NC State on Feb. 9. He tied the legendary Wes Unseld who was the lone owner of the record since Dec. 1, 1967. Brown also broke the ACC freshman single game scoring record, previously set by Cooper Flagg at 42 points.
• Louisville had two 30-point scorers in one game for the first time in program history as Mikel Brown Jr. scored 45 and Ryan Conwell scored 31 against NC State on Feb. 9. UofL is one of three teams in DI this season to have a game with two 31+ point scorers. The duo became the first pair of ACC players to drop 30+ each against another ACC team since Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson of UNC did it at Florida State on Jan. 4, 2016.
• Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. was named ACC Player and Rookie of the Week on Feb. 16 in addition to Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and AP National Player of the Week.
• According to OptaSTATS, Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell are the only DI teammate duo in the last 30 seasons to combine for 75+ points, 15+ rebounds and 15+ threes made in a game. Only one NBA duo has ever done it: Damian Lillard and Nassir Little during Lillard's 71-point game on Feb. 26, 2023. Mikel Brown Jr. is the only DI player since at least 2010-11 to record 45 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals in 34 minutes or less in a single game. He did so against NC State on Feb. 9.
• Louisville is one of three DI teams with at least six victories of 40 points or more this season, joining Michigan (7) and High Point (6). The six 40+ point wins are the most UofL has ever had in a single season.
• Mikel Brown Jr. is one of nine players in DI this season to score 45 points, and one of six to do it in a regulation length game.
• Louisville is one of four programs that has logged at least three games of 18+ made 3's, joining Cornell (4 games), Charleston Southern (3) and VMI (3).
• Louisville has had five 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 one of 15 teams in 2025-26 as of Feb. 27 to have five games or more of at least 24 assists.
• Louisville has had 10 games of 20+ assists, also one of 22 teams in the nation to do so.
• Louisville shot 60% from the 3-point line against the Wolfpack on Feb. 9. It was the best the Cards have shot from the arc, since shooting 62.5% in an 82-74 victory over Florida State on March 8, 2018.
• Against Memphis on Dec. 13, Louisville had four different players with at least three 3-pointers apiece for the first time since Nov. 22, 2010 when the Cards played Chattanooga.
• Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. has logged seven 20-point games, the most ever in a single season by a Louisville freshman. He also broke the Louisville freshman single game scoring record with 45 points against NC State, and logged another top-five freshman performance against Kentucky.

Clemson

• Clemson has won 94 games over the last four seasons (2022-26), including two trips to the NCAA Tournament and the school's second Elite Eight appearance.
• The Tigers are 53-22 overall in the ACC over the same time period, the second-most wins in the ACC behind Duke.
• Clemson's 94-38 record for the last four years is the most wins in Clemson history over a four-year period. The previous mark was a 93-41 mark between 2006-07 and 2009-10.
• The record was broken with a road win at California (Feb. 7). It also clinched just the second era that Clemson has won at least 20 games four years in a row. The first five year era was 2006-07 to 2010-11.
• The Tigers won a school record 27 games in 2024-25, including wins over AP Top 5 Kentucky and Duke. Clemson finished 18-2 in the ACC – the most conference wins in school history, including a record 15 by doubledigits (third-most in ACC history). The Tigers finished 9-1 on the road in league play, four more ACC road wins than any previous season.
• Since 2017-18, the Tigers are fourth in the ACC in wins (188) and fourth in league wins (100). 
• Clemson won its 14th-straight ACC road game at California on Feb. 7 by a score of 77-55.
• Dating back to 2024-25, Clemson had won 14 in a row on the road in the ACC. The streak was snapped on Feb. 14 at No. 4 Duke by a 67-54 final score.
• The streak was the second-longest in ACC history and was the longest streak of its kind in the last 25 years in the ACC.
• Clemson's 15-3 (.833) road record in conference play over the last two seasons is second in the league to Duke's 15-2 mark.
• Clemson underwent its largest roster turnover under Brad Brownell this past offseason that saw the graduations of Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Viktor Lakhin, Jaeden Zackery, Matt Kelly, Daniel Nauseef and Andrew Latiff. While seven exhausted eligiblity, six entered the transfer portal. Dillon Hunter, Dallas Thomas and Ace Buckner are the stayovers from last year's roster.
• Clemson was active in the transfer portal, adding talent from all over the country, including Nick Davidson (Nevada), Carter Welling (Utah Valley), RJ Godfrey (Georgia), Jake Wahlin (Utah), Butta Johnson (UAB) and Jestin Porter (Middle Tennessee State). In addition to these six, Clemson will also boast a freshmen class of four: Zac Foster, Chase Thompson, Trent Steinour and Blake Davidson.
• Godfrey returns to Clemson after spending a year away from the program at Georgia. He was recruited by Brownell out of high school and played his first two seasons in Tigertown, including helping the Tigers to the Elite Eight in 2023-24.
• Clemson had won 14 straight home games over two years prior to its 80-76 overtime loss to NC State.
• Over the last 32 home games dating to 2023-24, Clemson is 27-5 and three of the five losses have been in overtime. In addition to the recent Florida State and Virginia Tech losses, the Tigers lost in overtime to NC State, in triple overtime at home to Georgia Tech and to Memphis in overtime last year.
• Clemson posted six double-digit scorers against Cincinnati on Dec. 21 and against Georgia in the championship game of the Charleston Classic (Nov. 23). The game against Georgia was the first time since Dec. 14, 2021 against Miami (Oh.)

(Photo of J'Vonne Hadley: Jim Dedmon - Imagn Images)

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