Louisville Outlasts Cincinnati in Defensive Slugfest

CINCINNATI - 10 days after taking down in-state arch rival Kentucky, the Louisville men's basketball program has knocked off their former longtime conference rival.

Heading up I-71 for a neutral court matchup against Cincinnati, the Cardinals emerged victorious in an absolute rock fight of a game, winning 74-64 over the Bearcats on Friday from Heritage Bank Arena.

No. 6 Louisville (5-0, 0-0 ACC) not only continue their undefeated start to the 2025-26 season, in what was the 101st all-time meeting between the two, they capture their first win over Cincinnati (4-1, 0-0 Big 12) since Feb. 22, 2013. The two schools used to face each other on a yearly basis, but had only met once since the 2013-14 season - a UC win in the 2022 Maui Invitational.

Facing a Cincinnati defense that ranked second on KenPom in terms of efficiency, Louisville certainly struggled for much of the night offensively. They shot it just 37.5 percent from the floor and were only 8-of-28 on three-point attempts, but made up for it with a 24-of-28 showing at the free throw line.

However, the Cardinals' own defensive efforts were even more potent on this night. They held the Bearcats to only 37.1 percent from the floor and 8-of-29 on threes, and only allowed them to make 16 trips to the charity stripe with 10 makes. After being out-rebounded 24-to-18 in the first half, UofL won the rebounding battle 23-to-14 after halftime, and scored 17 points and 13 forced turnovers.

Ryan Conwell and Mikel Brown Jr. led the charge for Louisville. Conwell finished with 25 points and five rebounds, while Brown added 22 points, six assists, five boards and three steals. Sananda Fru also scored in double figures with 11 points, while Day Day Thomas and Shon Abaev each had 12 points for Cincinnati.

Cincinnati's second-ranked defense was certainly on full display to start out. Louisville might have scored the first three points, but they missed their first 10 field goal attempts of the game, not connecting until the 12:27 mark. This allowed the Bearcats to go on a 15-1 run to lead 15-4 just under seven minutes into the game.

After that rocky start, the Cardinals were able to settle down some and land a good counterpunch. They responded by going on a 5-of-8 shooting spurt, resulting in a 15-2 run to take a brief lead with under seven minutes left in the half.

Louisville's own defensive efforts also improved after the first 10 minutes, with Cincinnati ending the half on a 5-of-16 shooting stretch after opening 7-of-16. But the Cardinals also ended the half connecting on just two of their final nine, giving the Bearcats a 32-28 lead at halftime.

Facing their first halftime deficit of the season, Louisville set the tone to start the second half, going on a 12-5 run to flip the four-point deficit into a three-point advantage in just over four minutes.

Cincinnati was able to hang around and remain within striking distance for much of the second half, but poor shooting in this period - plus increased physicality from Louisville - eventually caught up to them.

The Bearcats shot it just 11-for-30 in the second half, while the Cardinals went 14-for-29 from the field and also had a 23-to-14 rebounding advantage in this period. UofL led by as much 11 with 1:23 left in the game.

Next up, Louisville will return home to the KFC Yum! Center and take on Eastern Michigan. Tip-off against the Eagles is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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