Preview: Louisville wraps up regular season at Miami
· Yahoo Sports
Louisville Cardinals (21-9, 10-7) at Miami Hurricanes (24-6, 13-4)
Game Time: 2 p.m.
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Location: Watsco Center: Coral Gables, Fla.
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Dave O’Brien (play-by-play) and Cory Alexander (analysis)
Favorite: Louisville by 1.5
Series: Louisville leads, 15-8
Last Meeting: Louisville won 88-78 on Feb. 8, 2025 in Louisville
Series History:
Projected Starting Lineups:
Louisville
- G Adrian Wooley (6-4, 200, So.)
- G Isaac McKneely (6-4, 195, Sr.)
- G Ryan Conwell (6-4, 215, Sr.)
- F J’Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, Sr.)
- C Vangelis Zougris (6-8, 240, Jr.)
Miami
- G Tre Donaldson (6-3, 198, Sr.)
- G Dante Allen (6-4, 220, Fr.)
- F Shelton Henderson (6-6, 240, Fr.)
- F Malik Reneau (6-11, 238, Sr.)
- C Ernest Udeh Jr. (6-11, 266, Sr.)
Injury Reports:
Statistics:
Miami’s Season to Date:
Relevant Videos:
About Miami:
No team in power conference basketball has experienced a greater one-season resurgence than the Miami Hurricanes. A year after winning just seven games, first-year head coach Jai Lucas has The U one win away from setting a new program record for most regular season wins in a single campaign.
The Hurricanes enter the final weekend of the regular season with a double-bye in the ACC Tournament already shored up, and are playing for seeding, not inclusion, in the NCAA Tournament. Their only two losses in non-conference play came on neutral courts to the formidable tandem of Florida and BYU, and their 13 conference wins are already the most they’ve had in a a season since 2022-23, when the ACC played a 20-game league slate.
Lucas, who left his job as assistant coach at Duke at the end of last regular season to get a head start on his first year in Coral Gables, built his 2025-26 roster almost entirely from scratch. The biggest addition has been forward Malik Reneau, an Indiana transfer that most Louisville fans are likely familiar with. A potential First Team All-ACC honoree, Reneau is a physical interior scorer who leads the team at nearly 20 points and about six rebounds per game while shooting better than 55 percent from the floor. He’s the Hurricanes’ offensive centerpiece and the guy Miami wants touching the ball when possessions start to bog down.
For a Louisville team that has struggled with its interior defense pretty much all season long — especially against overly physical forwards and centers — Reneau is a matchup nightmare.
In the backcourt, point guard Tre Donaldson — a Michigan transfer — is the engine that keeps things organized for the ’Canes. Donaldson is averaging a career-best 16.6 ppg as well as 5.9 assists per game, also a career-best. He is an absolute playmaker who does pretty much whatever Lucas asks of him.
Miami also boasts versatile wings in Tru Washington (11.8 ppg), a New Mexico transfer, and freshman forward Shelton Henderson (14.0 ppg), a former Louisville target. Both possess the athleticism and playmaking ability to be killers in transition. While Washington is the better shooter of the two, they also both can hit the three at a solid enough clip that their outside shot has to be respected in halfcourt situations.
Big man Ernest Udeh (7.1 points/9.5 rebound) is a massive human being who gives the Hurricanes a true center presence. He isn’t a super talented offensive big, but he rebounds at an extremely high level and anchors the defense around the rim, helping Miami avoid the backend protection problems that plagued last year’s team.
One last note on Miami’s group of players: Sophomore forward Marcus Allen played the first eight games of this season before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Allen spoke about the experience back in February.
Miami’s strength on both ends of the floor is around the rim. They don’t shoot the three particularly well, nor do they shoot it very often. Inside the arc, however, their team average of 57.6 percent is the 28th-best in college basketball. On the other end of the floor, the ‘Canes are allowing opponents to shoot 35.0 percent from three, which ranks 243rd-best nationally.
Other quick notes:
—They are a horrible free-throw shooting team.
—They’re great at turning opposing teams over, but have some turnover problems themselves.
—They’ve only been beaten at home twice this season, but the two teams that beat them (Florida State and Cal) weren’t exactly world-beaters.
—They are the best rebounding team in the ACC.
—They win with size and physicality. While we’d all love to see this team miraculously get bigger and more physical, this feels like a game that Louisville is going to have to win by lighting it up from the outside. If the Cards don’t have an above average afternoon shooting the basketball, it’s very difficult to envision them coming back home with a win.
Notable:
—Louisville is 7-6 all-time in road games against Miami.
—The last time Louisville played a road game at Miami, the Cardinals snapped a 22-game road losing streak with an 80-71 win in Coral Gables. The win marked the lone road victory in Kenny Payne’s two-year tenure.
—Miami is one victory away from setting a new program record for wins in a single regular season with 25.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 177-70 (.717) in all-time conference games as a head coach, posting an 81-43 (.653) record in away league games.
—Louisville is 2-6 against top 25 opponents so far this season, and 0-4 against top 25 opponents in true road games.
—Miami will honor three seniors — Tre Donaldson, Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh Jr. — during its Senior Day festivities on Saturday. All three players have started every game for the Hurricanes this season.
—Louisville is 0-8 this season in Quadrant I-A games. Saturday’s game at Miami will be U of L’s ninth Q1A opportunity of the season.
—Miami leads all Division-I programs with a .574 improvement from last season to this one (.226 last season, .800 this season). Louisville led the country in the same category last season.
—Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr. will miss his 10th game of the season because of a lingering back injury.
—Louisville’s team average of 85.7 points per game is the 18th-best in college basketball.
—Louisville averages 11.9 made three-pointers per game, the most in the ACC and the fourth-most nationally.
—Louisville is 1-11 in Quadrant I-A games under the direction of head coach Pat Kelsey, with their lone win coming over Clemson in last year’s ACC Tournament. Saturday’s game at Miami is a Q1A opportunity for the Cardinals.
—Louisville is just 3-7 in true road games so far this season. The Cardinals are averaging 76.2 points over those 10 road contests.
—Miami has clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.
—Louisville can clinch the No. 6 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament with a win over Miami on Saturday. If the Cardinals lose, they will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the tournament.
—Louisville is 11-1 in Saturday games so far this season, and just 10-8 in games played on any other day of the week.
—Louisville has hit the 100-point mark six times in a season for the first time ever.
—Louisville is 47-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play. The Cardinals are also 0-17 under Kelsey when trailing with five minutes to play.
—Louisville is 0-9 under head coach Pat Kelsey when trailing by 5 points or more at halftime.
—Louisville is 14-0 over the past 11 seasons when limiting opponents to no more than one three-point field goal.
—Louisville is 122-0 all-time when scoring 100 or more points in non-overtime games.
—Louisville has won 167 consecutive games when holding an opponent under 50 points.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 79, Miami 78