Louisville Game Notes — https://uofl.me/41G9LHI
Virginia Game Notes — https://uofl.me/3SJG18Q
Video: Head Coach Kenny Payne/Mike James Press Conference —
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Louisville men’s basketball completes the regular season Saturday at No. 13/12 Virginia at 2 p.m. ET in Charlottesville, Va. The game will air on ESPN2.
The Cardinals have lost three in a row, most recently falling 71-54 at home to Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Virginia outlasted Clemson 64-57 at home Tuesday.
Louisville is 5-21 all-time against the Cavaliers, including a 1-9 record on the road. Virginia narrowly won the teams’ first meeting this year, 61-58 in Louisville on Feb. 15. Virginia has won 16 of the last 18 in the series since it resumed in 2015 after a 15-year hiatus.
GAME 31
Louisville (4-26, 2-17 ACC) at No. 13/12 Virginia (22-6, 14-5 ACC)
March 4, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET
John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.
MEDIA INFO
Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship)
Watch: ESPN2 (Mike Monaco, pxp | Tom Crean, analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
TOP STORYLINES
• This will be Louisville’s seventh game against a ranked opponent this season. The Cardinals have won 45 of their last 107 games against AP ranked opponents but are 0-6 this season, most recently dropping a 61-58 home result to Virginia when the Cavaliers were ranked seventh. Louisville has a 62-75 record against Top 25 teams over the last 13 years.
• Senior guard El Ellis is averaging 22.0 points per game over the last six games while shooting 51% from the field, 36% from 3 and 91% from the free-throw line. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 17 of the last 21 games. In his last 16 games since 2023 began, he has 75 assists against just 48 turnovers.
• Across the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac 12, senior guard El Ellis is 1 of 11 players to rank in the top seven in their league in both scoring and assists. Ellis (2nd in scoring, 7th in assists) is 1 of 2 such players in the ACC along with Wake Forest’s Tyree Appleby.
• Over the last five games, junior forward JJ Traynor is averaging 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while making 8 of 13 shots from 3-point range. Traynor has made more than three times as many 3s this season (22) as he did in his first two seasons combined (7). He scored a career-high 16 points in back-to-back games against Clemson and Duke.
• Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James ranks fourth in the ACC among freshmen in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Over the last 16 games, James is averaging 12.1 points and has increased his volume to 9.3 shots per game.
• Louisville started the game at Duke on Feb. 20 with an 18-9 lead, marking the eighth loss for the Cardinals this season in which they’ve led by at least eight points at one time, including six times in ACC play.
• Louisville had 13 or fewer turnovers just four times in the first 20 games of the season. The Cardinals have now had 13 or fewer turnovers in seven of the last 10 games. On the other side of the ball, Louisville is averaging 7.3 3-point makes per game in the last 11 games after averaging just 5.9 made 3s across the first 19 games.
HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA (UVA leads 21-5)
Last Meeting: Virginia 61, Louisville 58
February 15, 2023 | Louisville, Ky.
A scoring drought in each half slowed Louisville men’s basketball’s momentum, as the Cardinals came up just short in their upset bid against No. 7/6 Virginia with a 61-58 loss at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville led by as much as nine in the first half and still led by one with 10:18 to go, but a key 9-0 run from the Cavaliers helped them make UofL keep chase the rest of the way.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead at 42-41 after a 3-pointer by junior forward JJ Traynor, and redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers tied it again at 44-44 with 9:29 left.
But Virginia rattled off nine straight points, opening a 53-44 cushion with 6:30 left after a basket by Kihei Clark. Louisville continued to chip away and got a putback from Traynor with 31 seconds on the clock to climb within 61-58. Virginia missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 at the other end, but the Cardinals’ 3-point try to tie was off the mark.
El Ellis paced Louisville with 21 points, while Withers added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Virginia Game Notes — https://uofl.me/3SJG18Q
Video: Head Coach Kenny Payne/Mike James Press Conference —
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Louisville men’s basketball completes the regular season Saturday at No. 13/12 Virginia at 2 p.m. ET in Charlottesville, Va. The game will air on ESPN2.
The Cardinals have lost three in a row, most recently falling 71-54 at home to Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Virginia outlasted Clemson 64-57 at home Tuesday.
Louisville is 5-21 all-time against the Cavaliers, including a 1-9 record on the road. Virginia narrowly won the teams’ first meeting this year, 61-58 in Louisville on Feb. 15. Virginia has won 16 of the last 18 in the series since it resumed in 2015 after a 15-year hiatus.
GAME 31
Louisville (4-26, 2-17 ACC) at No. 13/12 Virginia (22-6, 14-5 ACC)
March 4, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET
John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.
MEDIA INFO
Listen: Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9 FM & WGTK 970 AM flagship)
Watch: ESPN2 (Mike Monaco, pxp | Tom Crean, analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
TOP STORYLINES
• This will be Louisville’s seventh game against a ranked opponent this season. The Cardinals have won 45 of their last 107 games against AP ranked opponents but are 0-6 this season, most recently dropping a 61-58 home result to Virginia when the Cavaliers were ranked seventh. Louisville has a 62-75 record against Top 25 teams over the last 13 years.
• Senior guard El Ellis is averaging 22.0 points per game over the last six games while shooting 51% from the field, 36% from 3 and 91% from the free-throw line. After having a positive or even assist-to-turnover ratio just three times in the first nine games of the season, Ellis has been positive or even in 17 of the last 21 games. In his last 16 games since 2023 began, he has 75 assists against just 48 turnovers.
• Across the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac 12, senior guard El Ellis is 1 of 11 players to rank in the top seven in their league in both scoring and assists. Ellis (2nd in scoring, 7th in assists) is 1 of 2 such players in the ACC along with Wake Forest’s Tyree Appleby.
• Over the last five games, junior forward JJ Traynor is averaging 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while making 8 of 13 shots from 3-point range. Traynor has made more than three times as many 3s this season (22) as he did in his first two seasons combined (7). He scored a career-high 16 points in back-to-back games against Clemson and Duke.
• Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James ranks fourth in the ACC among freshmen in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Over the last 16 games, James is averaging 12.1 points and has increased his volume to 9.3 shots per game.
• Louisville started the game at Duke on Feb. 20 with an 18-9 lead, marking the eighth loss for the Cardinals this season in which they’ve led by at least eight points at one time, including six times in ACC play.
• Louisville had 13 or fewer turnovers just four times in the first 20 games of the season. The Cardinals have now had 13 or fewer turnovers in seven of the last 10 games. On the other side of the ball, Louisville is averaging 7.3 3-point makes per game in the last 11 games after averaging just 5.9 made 3s across the first 19 games.
HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA (UVA leads 21-5)
Last Meeting: Virginia 61, Louisville 58
February 15, 2023 | Louisville, Ky.
A scoring drought in each half slowed Louisville men’s basketball’s momentum, as the Cardinals came up just short in their upset bid against No. 7/6 Virginia with a 61-58 loss at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville led by as much as nine in the first half and still led by one with 10:18 to go, but a key 9-0 run from the Cavaliers helped them make UofL keep chase the rest of the way.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead at 42-41 after a 3-pointer by junior forward JJ Traynor, and redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers tied it again at 44-44 with 9:29 left.
But Virginia rattled off nine straight points, opening a 53-44 cushion with 6:30 left after a basket by Kihei Clark. Louisville continued to chip away and got a putback from Traynor with 31 seconds on the clock to climb within 61-58. Virginia missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 at the other end, but the Cardinals’ 3-point try to tie was off the mark.
El Ellis paced Louisville with 21 points, while Withers added 12 points and eight rebounds.
