Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Ohio Bobcats

On the heels of capturing an emphatic win against Kentucky, it's right back to work for the Louisville men's basketball program. Capping off their four-game home stand to start the 2025-26 season, they'll host Ohio for their follow-up to the Battle of the Bluegrass.

Against the Wildcats, the Cardinals left little doubt that they were the much better team, earning a 96-88 victory in a game where they led by as much as 20 points. Louisville shot 44.9 percent from the field, but turned the ball over just six times, while forcing 14 Kentucky turnover for 19 points off of them.

Star true freshman point guard Mikel Brown was sensational in the win, notching a game-high 29 points on top of five assists. Ryan Conwell was also fantastic, scoring 24 points, while Sananda Fru finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-best +11.

As for the Bobcats, who were picked fourth in the preseason MAC poll, the start to their 2025-26 season hasn't been nearly as explosive as Louisville's. Ohio is just 1-2 to start the new hoops year, and are coming off of a 90-60 blowout loss at Saint Mary's. Four players for Ohio are averaging double figures in scoring to start the season, led by Jackson Paveletzke's 18.0.

This will be the 14th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Cardinals holding a 10-3 edge. Louisville has won the previous three matchups, with their last meeting being 59-54 decision in favor of UofL back on Nov. 25, 2011. The Bobcats have not won in the series since 1964, and have never won on the road, going 0-8 in such games.

Ohio Bobcats (1-2, 0-0 MAC) at No. 12 Louisville Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 ACC)

• Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 p.m. EST
• Place: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
• TV: The CW Network - Play-by-play and analyst TBD.
• Channel (Louisville)/Live Stream: Spectrum: 7; Dish: 34; DirecTV: 394.
• Radio (Louisville): 93.9 FM - Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano (analyst).