# 2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by interim head coach Mike Pegues. The Cardinals finished the season 13–19 overall and 6–14 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for eleventh place. As the eleventh seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated fourteenth seed Georgia Tech in the First Round before losing to sixth seed Virginia in the Second Round.
Head coach Chris Mack was fired on January 26, 2022, after starting the season 11–9. Associate coach Mike Pegues was named the interim coach for the remainder of the season. On March 16, the school named former Louisville player Kenny Payne the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cardinals finished the season 13–7, 8–5 to finish in seventh place in ACC play. They lost to Duke in the second round of the ACC tournament. They were listed as an alternate team for the NCAA tournamentshould a team be unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues. The team declined an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament prior to the NCAA Tournament field being announced. When all teams were able to participate in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals season ended.

## Offseason
### Suspension of Chris Mack

On August 27, 2021, the school announced that head coach Chris Mack would be suspended for the first six games of the season due to his part in an attempt by former assistant Dino Gaudio to blackmail Mack. Gaudio, who was a longtime assistant to Mack and whom Mack had let go following the completion of the 2020–21 season, had attempted to blackmail Mack with allegations of relatively minor misconduct by Mack and the team in violation of NCAA rules. The school said that Mack was being suspended for failing to follow university guidelines regarding the matter. Gaudio pled guilty to extortion for his actions in the matter.

### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Carlik Jones | 1 | G | 6'1" | 185 | GS Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduated/undrafted in 2021 NBA draft |
| Hogan Orbaugh | 3 | C | 6'8" | 235 | Sophomore | Zionsville, IN | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Quinn Slazinski | 11 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Sophomore | Houston, TX | Transferred to Iona |
| David Johnson | 13 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Sophomore | Louisville, KY | Declared for 2021 NBA draft |
| Josh Nickelberry | 20 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Sophomore | Fayetteville, NC | Transferred to La Salle |
| Charles Minlend | 21 | G | 6'4" | 220 | GS Senior | Concord, NC | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Aidan Igiehon | 22 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Sophomore | Dublin, Ireland | Transferred to Grand Canyon |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Noah Locke | 0 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Senior | Baltimore, MD | Florida |
| El Ellis | 3 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Durham, NC | Tallahassee CC |
| Mason Faulkner | 11 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Graduate Student | Glasgow, KY | Western Carolina |
| Jarrod West | 13 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Graduate Student | Clarksburg, WV | Marshall |
| Sydney Curry | 23 | F | 6'8" | 260 | Junior | Fort Wayne, IN | John A. Logan College |
| Matt Cross | 33 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Sophomore | Beverly, MA | Miami (FL) |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mike James #18 SF | Orlando, FL | Oak Ridge High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 9, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Roosevelt Wheeler #13 C | Richmond, VA | John Marshall High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Nov 16, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Louisville Commitments". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN- Louisville Cardinals Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| D'Ante Davis #36 SF | Indianapolis, IN | Lawrence Central High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Dec 5, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Louisville Commitments". Rivals.com. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. "ESPN- Louisville Cardinals Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Kentucky State | W 94–45 | – | 15 – Locke | 15 – Withers | 4 – West | KFC Yum! Center (13,023) Louisville, KY |
| November 3, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | West Georgia | W 103–51 | – | 15 – Tied | 8 – Withers | 5 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,477) Louisville, KY |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Southern | W 72–60 | 1–0 | 16 – Locke | 14 – Williamson | 5 – West | KFC Yum! Center (12,643) Louisville, KY |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Furman | L 72–80 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | 20 – Locke | 10 – Williams | 7 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (12,431) Louisville, KY |
| November 15, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Navy | W 77–60 | 2–1 | 14 – Cross | 5 – Williams | 5 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,223) Louisville, KY |
| November 20, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Detroit Mercy Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship campus game | W 73–67 | 3–1 | 18 – Davis | 9 – Tied | 3 – Williams | KFC Yum! Center (12,561) Louisville, KY |
| November 25, 2021* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Mississippi State Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship semifinals | W 72–58 | 4–1 | 15 – Williamson | 10 – Williams | 3 – West | Baha Mar Convention Center (0) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 27, 2021* 10:00 a.m., CBSSN | | vs. Maryland Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship | W 63–55 | 5–1 | 13 – Williams | 12 – Williams | 6 – West | Baha Mar Convention Center (0) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 1, 2021* 7:15 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 22 Michigan State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 64–73 | 5–2 | 22 – Ellis | 8 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| December 4, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at NC State | W 73–68 | 6–2 (1–0) | 14 – Williams | 12 – Williams | 6 – West | PNC Arena (13,092) Raleigh, NC |
| December 10, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | DePaul | L 55–62 | 6–3 | 22 – Williams | 8 – Tied | 4 – Davis | KFC Yum! Center (13,127) Louisville, KY |
| December 14, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 86–60 | 7–3 | 15 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 5 – West | KFC Yum! Center (12,247) Louisville, KY |
| December 18, 2021* 3:00 p.m., CBS | | at Western Kentucky | L 72–82 | 7–4 | 20 – Locke | 6 – Withers | 4 – West | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,053) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 22, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 20 Kentucky Rivalry | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 29, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | W 73–69 | 8–4 (2–0) | 17 – Locke | 8 – Tied | 5 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (14,120) Louisville, KY |
| January 2, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | W 67–64 | 9–4 (3–0) | 20 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 4 – Tied | McCamish Pavilion (4,853) Atlanta, GA |
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Pittsburgh | W 75–72 | 10–4 (4–0) | 18 – Ellis | 8 – Curry | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (11,973) Louisville, KY |
| January 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Florida State | L 70–79 | 10–5 (4–1) | 14 – Ellis | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (9,527) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 12, 2022 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | L 63–79 | 10–6 (4–2) | 22 – Curry | 10 – Curry | 3 – Locke | KFC Yum! Center (11,973) Louisville, KY |
| January 15, 2022 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | L 53–65 | 10–7 (4–3) | 12 – Williams | 13 – Williams | 2 – 3 tied | Petersen Events Center (8,431) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Boston College | W 67–54 | 11–7 (5–3) | 13 – Curry | 8 – Williams | 7 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (12,123) Louisville, KY |
| January 22, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | Notre Dame | L 70–82 | 11–8 (5–4) | 14 – West | 9 – Withers | 5 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (16,175) Louisville, KY |
| January 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Virginia | L 52–64 | 11–9 (5–5) | 14 – West | 6 – Cross | 3 – West | John Paul Jones Arena (13,076) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 29, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 9 Duke | L 65–74 | 11–10 (5–6) | 16 – Davis | 12 – Williams | 4 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (18,493) Louisville, KY |
| February 1, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | North Carolina | L 83–90 $^{OT}$ | 11–11 (5–7) | 25 – Ellis | 15 – Cross | 4 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (13,386) Louisville, KY |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Syracuse | L 69–92 | 11–12 (5–8) | 13 – Withers | 10 – Curry | 5 – West | Carrier Dome (23,298) Syracuse, NY |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Notre Dame | L 57–63 | 11–13 (5–9) | 20 – Withers | 6 – Wheeler | 3 – West | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,260) South Bend, IN |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Miami (FL) | L 63–70 | 11–14 (5–10) | 18 – Davis | 7 – Tied | 1 – 6 tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,065) Louisville, KY |
| February 19, 2022 3:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Clemson | W 70–61 | 12–14 (6–10) | 15 – Locke | 10 – Withers | 3 – Ellis | KFC Yum! Center (13,242) Louisville, KY |
| February 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at North Carolina | L 63–70 | 12–15 (6–11) | 10 – 3 tied | 7 – Withers | 5 – West | Dean Smith Center (18,618) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Wake Forest | L 77–99 | 12–16 (6–12) | 28 – Curry | 7 – Curry | 3 – Faulkner | LJVM Coliseum (8,139) Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 1, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Virginia Tech | L 43–75 | 12–17 (6–13) | 18 – Curry | 11 – Curry | 4 – West | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| March 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Virginia | L 61–71 | 12–18 (6–14) | 24 – Curry | 14 – Curry | 7 – Faulkner | KFC Yum! Center (13,085) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | (11) | vs. (14) Georgia Tech First round | W 84–74 | 13–18 | 20 – West | 10 – Williams | 6 – Ellis | Barclays Center (6,222) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 9, 2022 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (11) | vs. (6) Virginia Second round | L 50–51 | 13–19 | 11 – Williams | 13 – Williams | 3 – West | Barclays Center (8,174) Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.