Previewing UNC Basketball's ACC Battle with the Louisville Cardinals

The next team that will be discussed as a part of the “UNC vs. The ACC” series are the Louisville Cardinals.

North Carolina leads the all-time series with Louisville 14-6 but lost last year's meeting 83-70 in Louisville.

The win was Louisville’s first over the Tar Heels since Feb. 22, 2020, snapping Carolina’s five-game winning streak—the longest in series history. Carolina’s dominance coincided with the previous four seasons, which marked the lowest point in Louisville basketball history.

Louisville has been one of the most consistent basketball programs in the country historically. However, Louisville finished with a 12-52 record—including 5-35 in ACC play—from 2021 to 2024. The Cardinals then hired Pat Kelsey as head coach.

Louisville Cardinals' head basketball coach Pat Kelsey during the exhibition basketball game against Kansas at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Friday, October 24, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kelsey's first season, the Cardinals made a dramatic turnaround, finishing 27-8, placing second in the ACC at 18-2, advancing to the ACC Tournament championship game, and earning their first NCAA tournament bid since 2021. Louisville also won more games last season than in the previous three years combined (25).

Louisville now has high expectations once again as the Cards come in as the No. 11 team in the country and are expected to take the next step. Is this the year? Well, with Kelsey allegedly getting into a confrontation with Kentucky head coach Mark Pope during a recruiting visit, we know U of L isn't playing around.

Starting Lineup

Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0), left, Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) and Louisville Cardinals guard Kobe Rodgers (11) after the Cardinals' media day for the 2025-26 basketball season on Wednesday Oct. 15, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

True freshman Mikel Brown Jr. will start at point guard for Louisville this season. Brown, a five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle out of DME Academy (Fla.), ranked among the top three in Florida for points per game with 29.6. A natural sharpshooter, he won the three-point contest at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Shooting guard Ryan Conwell is another strong perimeter threat and was arguably Louisville’s biggest addition from the transfer portal.

Mar 17, 2025; Dayton, OH, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis looks on during the First Four Practice at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Conwell averaged 16.5 points per game at Xavier, shooting 45 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three-point range. Louisville is Conwell’s fourth stop, having previously played at Indiana and South Florida. Conwell scored a team-high 28 points in Louisville's exhibition game against Kansas.

Both Brown and Conwell were named to the Preseason All-ACC First Team by members of the media.

Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) tries to steal the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) in the exhibition game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Friday, October 24, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan McKneely (6-4, 215, Sr.) will start at small forward for Louisville, bringing significant ACC experience from his three seasons at Virginia, where he was a regular starter in his last two years.

With the Cavaliers, McKneely averaged 11.1 points per game, shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three-point range. Last season, he averaged 14.4 points, hitting 44 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Oct 8, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Louisville player J'Vonne Hadley answers questions from the media at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

Forward/guard J’Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, Sixth Year) is Louisville’s lone returning starter. Hadley started all 35 games last season, averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point range.

Louisville added size in the paint with Sananda Fru (6-11, 245, Jr.), who played professionally in Germany for four years with Loewen Braunschweig.

Apr 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) walks past the team logo prior to the game against the Villanova Wildcats in the championship game of the 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Fru started 35 of 39 games last season, including the FIBA Europe Cup, and averaged 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the floor.

Key Role Players

Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) and Louisville Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley (14) battle for a loose ball during an exhibition game before UofL basketball's 2025-26 season at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Friday, October 24, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Adrian Wooley is another significant transfer addition for Louisville and is expected to play major minutes off the bench, either in the rotation or as the sixth man. Wooley, who comes in from Kennesaw State, was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year and earned first-team All-Conference USA honors after averaging 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He shot 51.2 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three-point range.

Guard Kobe Rodgers and seven-foot big man Aly Khalifa are expected to see significant minutes for Louisville this season after both redshirted last year to rehab knee injuries.

Rodgers followed Kelsey from Charleston to Louisville and will play a key role after redshirting last season. At Charleston in 2023-24, Rodgers averaged 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game, shooting 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range.

He began his college career at Nova Southeastern (Fla.), where he averaged 13.2 points per game and helped the Sharks to a 36-0 national championship season.

Aly Khalifa started 26 of 29 games at BYU during the 2023-24 season, averaging 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. He previously played two seasons at Charlotte, where he averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

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