# 2024–25 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represents the University of Louisville during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They are led by first-year head coach Pat Kelsey.

## Previous season

The Cardinals began the season with a one-point win against UMBC but lost to Chattanooga in their second game of the season. After defeating Coppin State, they lost both of their games in the Empire Classic. They then went on a two-game winning streak, including an overtime victory over New Mexico State. They went on a three-game losing streak from there, including an opening ACC game loss to Virginia Tech. Their only other win in 2023 was on December 17 against Pepperdine. The Cardinals first ACC win game at Miami (FL) on January 10, 2024. This was Kenny Payne's first road win as head coach. The team lost six straight games after the win. Their next wins came on February 3 and February 10, 2024, and were split by a road loss to Syracuse. The Cardinals would lose their final seven games of the ACC regular season.
The Cardinals finished the 2023–24 season 8–24 and 3–17 in ACC play to finish in fifteenth place. As the fifteenth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost to tenth seed NC State in the First Round. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the NIT. After their ACC tournament loss, the Cardinals fired head coach Kenny Payne.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

After the dismissal of head coach Kenny Payne, previous Winthrop and Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey was signed to a five-year deal as the 24th coach in Louisville's history. Kelsey quickly brought a number of Charleston staff members to Louisville, including Brian Kloman and Thomas Carr as assistant coaches, Eli Foy as the head strength and conditioning coach, Jermaine Ukaegbu as the director of player personnel, and Mitch Johnson as the director of basketball operations. Other hires include LSU's Ronnie Hamilton as assistant coach and retired Louisville player Peyton Siva as the director of player development/alumni relations.

### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Mike James | 0 | G/F | 6'6" | 220 | Sophomore | Orlando, Florida | Transferred to NC State |
| Curtis Williams | 1 | G/F | 6'5" | 205 | Freshman | Detroit, Michigan | Transferred to Georgetown |
| Koron Davis | 3 | G | 6'6" | 185 | Junior | Gary, Indiana | Transferred to Louisiana |
| Ty-Laur Johnson | 4 | G | 6'0" | 160 | Freshman | Brooklyn, New York | Transferred to Wake Forest |
| Brandon Huntley-Hatfield | 5 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Clarksville, Tennessee | Transferred to NC State |
| Kaleb Glenn | 10 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Freshman | Louisville, Kentucky | Transferred to FAU |
| Dennis Evans | 11 | C | 7'1" | 215 | Freshman | Riverside, California | Transferred to Grand Canyon |
| JJ Traynor | 12 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Senior | Bardstown, Kentucky | Transferred to DePaul |
| Danilo Jovanovich | 13 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Sophomore | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Transferred to Milwaukee |
| Hercy Miller | 13 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Junior | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Transferred to Southern Utah |
| Tre White | 22 | G | 6'7" | 205 | Sophomore | Dallas, Texas | Transferred to Illinois |
| Emmanuel Okorafor | 34 | F/C | 6'9" | 220 | Sophomore | Albia, Nigeria | Transferred to Seton Hall |
| Skyy Clark | 55 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, California | Transferred to UCLA |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| James Scott | 0 | F | 6'11" | 210 | Sophomore | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Charleston |
| J'Vonne Hadley | 1 | G | 6'6" | 205 | 5th | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Colorado |
| Koren Johnson | 3 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Junior | Seattle, Washington | Washington |
| Cole Sherman | 4 | G | 5'11" | 190 | Junior | Louisville, Kentucky | Northern Kentucky |
| Terrence Edwards Jr. | 5 | G/F | 6'6" | 190 | Senior | Atlanta, Georgia | James Madison |
| Reyne Smith | 6 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Senior | Ulverstone, Tasmania | Charleston |
| Kasean Pryor | 7 | F | 6'10" | 210 | 5th | Chicago, Illinois | South Florida |
| Kobe Rodgers | 11 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Cincinnati, Ohio | Charleston |
| Patrick Antonelli | 12 | G | 5'11" | 170 | 5th | Mount Pleasant, South Carolina | Emory and Henry |
| Frank Anselem-Ibe | 13 | C | 6'10" | 215 | 5th | Lagos, Nigeria | Georgia |
| Aly Khalifa | 15 | C | 6'11" | 270 | Senior | Alexandria, Egypt | BYU |
| Chucky Hepburn | 24 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Omaha, Nebraska | Wisconsin |
| Aboubacar Traore | 25 | F | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Long Beach State |
| Noah Waterman | 93 | F | 6'11" | 220 | 6th | Savannah, New York | BYU |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Khani Rooths #9 F | Washington, D.C. | IMG Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 15, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| 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: "2024 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. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Louisville played two games in the Bahamas in the summer as allowed by the NCAA.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| July 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m., YouTube | | Bahamas Select | W 111–59 | – | 18 – Hadley | 7 – Traore | 9 – Johnson | Baha Mar (239) Nassau, Bahamas |
| August 1, 2024* 12:00 p.m., YouTube | | Calgary Dinos | W 111–71 | – | 20 – Pryor | 11 – Rooths | 7 – Hepburn | Baha Mar (221) Nassau, Bahamas |
| October 21, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Young Harris | W 106–59 | – | 24 – Edwards | 9 – Scott | 7 – Johnson | KFC Yum! Center (10,928) Louisville, KY |
| October 28, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Spalding | W 99–54 | – | 26 – Pryor | 9 – Scott | 8 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (11,556) Louisville, KY |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 93–45 | 1–0 | 18 – Pryor | 12 – Pryor | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,490) Louisville, KY |
| November 9, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 12 Tennessee | L 55–77 | 1–1 | 18 – Smith | 5 – Smith | 4 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (16,976) Louisville, KY |
| November 19, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Bellarmine | W 100–68 | 2–1 | 26 – Edwards | 8 – Scott | 5 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (12,220) Louisville, KY |
| November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Winthrop | W 76–61 | 3–1 | 20 – Smith | 13 – Hadley | 3 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (12,462) Louisville, KY |
| November 27, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. No. 14 Indiana Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | W 89–61 | 4–1 | 16 – Tied | 8 – Hadley | 10 – Hepburn | Imperial Arena (1,594) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 28, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. West Virginia Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals | W 79–70 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | 32 – Hepburn | 8 – Pryor | 3 – Hadley | Imperial Arena (767) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 29, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPN | | vs. Oklahoma Battle 4 Atlantis championship | L 64–69 | 5–2 | 12 – Tied | 13 – Hadley | 4 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,866) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| December 3, 2024* 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 23 Ole Miss ACC–SEC Challenge | L 63–86 | 5–3 | 19 – Hepburn | 9 – Tied | 4 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (12,729) Louisville, KY |
| December 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 9 Duke | L 65–76 | 5–4 (0–1) | 21 – Edwards Jr. | 8 – Tied | 5 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (15,312) Louisville, KY |
| December 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 77–74 | 6–4 | 22 – Edwards Jr. | 12 – Hadley | 7 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (11,668) Louisville, KY |
| December 14, 2024* 5:15 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 5 Kentucky Rivalry | L 85–93 | 6–5 | 26 – Hepburn | 12 – Waterman | 5 – Hepburn | Rupp Arena (21,093) Lexington, KY |
| December 21, 2024 2:00 p.m, The CW | | at Florida State | W 90–76 | 7–5 (1–1) | 27 – Smith | 8 – Hadley | 8 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (4,383) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 28, 2024* 12:00 p.m., The CW | | Eastern Kentucky | W 78–76 | 8–5 | 20 – Edwards Jr. | 10 – Hadley | 7 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (13,150) Louisville, KY |
| January 1, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | North Carolina | W 83–70 | 9–5 (2–1) | 26 – Hepburn | 8 – Scott | 7 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (14,248) Louisville, KY |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Virginia | W 70–50 | 10–5 (3–1) | 15 – Tied | 9 – Tied | 7 – Hepburn | John Paul Jones Arena (13,316) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Clemson | W 74–64 | 11–5 (4–1) | 32 – Hadley | 10 – Tied | 7 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (14,991) Louisville, KY |
| January 11, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Pittsburgh | W 82–78 | 12–5 (5–1) | 25 – Smith | 9 – Scott | 7 – Hepburn | Petersen Events Center (9,065) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 14, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | W 85–61 | 13–5 (6–1) | 24 – Hepburn | 10 – Hadley | 7 – Hepburn | JMA Wireless Dome (19,750) Syracuse, NY |
| January 18, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Virginia | W 81–67 | 14–5 (7–1) | 19 – Smith | 10 – Scott | 8 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (18,233) Louisville, KY |
| January 21, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 25 | at SMU | W 98–73 | 15–5 (8–1) | 30 – Smith | 7 – Tied | 16 – Hepburn | Moody Coliseum (6,135) University Park, TX |
| January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 21 | Wake Forest | W 72–59 | 16–5 (9–1) | 18 – Edwards Jr. | 8 – Scott | 8 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (14,533) Louisville, KY |
| February 1, 2025 3:45 p.m., The CW | No. 21 | at Georgia Tech | L 70–77 | 16–6 (9–2) | 22 – Edwards Jr. | 11 – Scott | 5 – Hepburn | McCamish Pavilion (6,147) Atlanta, GA |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College | W 84–58 | 17–6 (10–2) | 22 – Hadley | 11 – Traore | 6 – Edwards Jr. | Conte Forum (4,204) Boston, MA |
| February 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Miami | W 88–78 | 18–6 (11–2) | 27 – Edwards Jr. | 8 – Traore | 10 – Edwards Jr. | KFC Yum! Center (15,588) Louisville, KY |
| February 12, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at NC State | W 91–66 | 19–6 (12–2) | 21 – Tied | 9 – Hadley | 6 – Hepburn | Lenovo Center (10,029) Raleigh, NC |
| February 16, 2025 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Notre Dame | W 75–60 | 20–6 (13–2) | 16 – Hepburn | 10 – Scott | 6 – Hepburn | Joyce Center (5,437) South Bend, IN |
| February 22, 2025 12:00 p.m., The CW | No. 25 | Florida State | W 89–81 | 21–6 (14–2) | 29 – Hepburn | 11 – Hadley | 4 – Scott | KFC Yum! Center (16,473) Louisville, KY |
| February 25, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 19 | at Virginia Tech | W 71–66 | 22–6 (15–2) | 15 – Hepburn | 8 – Hadley | 6 – Hepburn | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| March 1, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 19 | Pittsburgh | W 79–68 | 23–6 (16–2) | 37 – Hepburn | 7 – Edwards Jr. | 4 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (18,459) Louisville, KY |
| March 5, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | California | W 85–68 | 24–6 (17–2) | 35 – Edwards Jr. | 8 – Hadley | 5 – Hepburn | KFC Yum! Center (14,442) Louisville, KY |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 14 | Stanford | W 68–48 | 25–6 (18–2) | 16 – Tied | 9 – Hadley | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (18,707) Louisville, KY |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) No. 13 | vs. (7) Stanford Quarterfinals | W 75–73 | 26–6 | 25 – Edwards Jr. | 9 – Waterman | 8 – Hepburn | Spectrum Center (10,627) Charlotte, NC |
| March 14, 2025 9:30 p.m., ESPN | (2) No. 13 | vs. (3) No. 10 Clemson Semifinals | W 76–73 | 27–6 | 21 – Edwards Jr. | 9 – Hadley | 5 – Hepburn | Spectrum Center (18,116) Charlotte, NC |
| March 15, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN | (2) No. 13 | vs. (1) No. 1 Duke Final | L 62–73 | 27–7 | 29 – Edwards Jr. | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Spectrum Center (15,322) Charlotte, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025 12:15 p.m., CBS | (8 S) No. 10 | vs. (9 S) Creighton Round of 64 | | | | | | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Schedule Source:
With the additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU the ACC will have a new scheduling format this season. Louisville will face Boston College, Georgia Tech, NC State, Notre Dame, SMU, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech on the road; Cal, Clemson, Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford, and Wake Forest at home; and Pitt, Virginia and Florida State twice for home and away games.

## 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 | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 25 | 21 | RV | RV | 25 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 10 | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | 22 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 11 | |