Louisville Rolls Past Ohio, Moves to 4-0

Hosting Ohio to cap off a four-game home stand to begin the 2025-26 season, the Louisville men's basketball program put together a blazing offensive outing to make up for a slightly shaky defensive one, culminating in a 106-81 win on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The No. 12 Cardinals (4-0, 0-0 ACC), who are coming off of a convincing 96-88 win over Kentucky this past Tuesday, win their first four games of a season for the first time since doing so to start their 2020-21 campaign. Their average margin of victory during this span has been 32.0 points.

Like in their first two games, Louisville was phenomenal on the offensive end of the floor. They shoot 50.0 percent from the field, 16-of-35 on three-point attempts, and assisted on 23 of their 34 made field goals. The Cardinals also added a 22-of-30 showing from the free throw line.

It made up for the fact that, defensively, they were not quite as crisp. The Bobcats (1-3, 0-0 MAC) shot 44.1 percent from the field and and 9-of-26 on threes, and added 20 made free throws as well. The one area where Louisville was consistent on defense was with ball pressure, forcing 17 turnovers and generating 27 points off of them.

Six players for Louisville finished in double figures scoring, including all five starters. Ryan Conwell had 22 points, six rebounds and three steals to lead UofL in all thre categories, while Mikel Brown Jr. added 19 points plus a team-best seven assists. Isaac McKneely poured in 15 points, Sananda Fru had 14 points, while Adrian Wooley and J'Vonne Hadley each finished with 11 points.

Louisville put on an offensive clinic in the first half of the matchup. They shot 20-of-36 from the field, 9-of-17 on three-point ties, and added a 10-of-14 showing from the free throw line to average a blazing 1.553 points per possession. Their 59 first half points tied for the seventh highest in the last 50 years, and was the most in 10 years.

Defensively, however, they were a bit streaky in the first half. Ohio was able to shoot 14-of-29/5-of-13/11-of-15 in the opening period, allowing the Bobcats to hang around at times in the first half. That being said, despite not going on a run longer than eight points, the Cardinals were still able to hold their visitors to 44 points and maintain a 15-point advantage at the break.

Early in the second half, it seemed like Ohio might actually put themselves in position to make a comeback. They hit six of their first 10 attempts of the half, while Louisville connected on only five of their first 14.

This was however countered by a stretch where the Bobcats missed seven straight, and the Cardinals countered with a quick 4-of-5 spurt. It gave the latter a 9-0 run and 22-point lead with 10:51 left to maintain firm control.

Neither team shot it particularly well down the stretch, with Louisville hitting five of their final 14 tries while Ohio draining six of their last 13 attempts. But that was still enough for the Cardinals to crack the 100-point threshold at the 3:03 mark.

Next up, Louisville will play their first game away from the KFC Yum! Center this season, taking on rival Cincinnati in a neutral court showdown. Tip-off against the Bearcats is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. EST.