# 2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2020–21 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 third-year head coach Chris Mack.
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 tournament if a team were unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues. The team declined an invitation to the NIT 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.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2019–20 season with of 24–7, 15–5 to finish in a tie for second place in ACC play. As the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament, they were scheduled to play Syracuse before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament was later also canceled due to the pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Lamarr Kimble | 0 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Graduate Student | Philadelphia, PA | Graduated |
| Keith Oddo | 1 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Graduate Student | Roanoke, VA | Graduated |
| Darius Perry | 2 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Junior | Marietta, GA | Transferred to UCF |
| Grant Williams | 4 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Junior | Crestwood, KY | Walk-on |
| Steven Enoch | 23 | C | 6'10" | 255 | Senior | Norwalk, CT | Graduated |
| Dwayne Sutton | 24 | G | 6'5" | 220 | Senior | Louisville, KY | Graduated |
| Ryan McMahon | 30 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | Sarasota, FL | Graduated |
| Jordan Nwora | 33 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Buffalo, NY | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 45th overall by Milwaukee Bucks |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Carlik Jones | 1 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Graduate Student | Cincinnati, OH | Radford |
| Charles Minlend | 21 | G | 6'4" | 220 | Graduate Student | Concord, NC | San Francisco |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| D'Andre Davis SF | Indianapolis, IN | Lawrence Central High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 20, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| JJ Traynor PF | Bardstown, KY | Bardstown High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Oct 30, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Gabe Wizniter C | Wallhalla, SC | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Jun 23, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| 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: "2020 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. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | Evansville | W 79–44 | 1–0 | 18 – Jones | 8 – Jones | 7 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (2,956) Louisville, KY |
| November 27, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Seton Hall | W 71–70 | 2–0 | 18 – Jones | 11 – Jones | 6 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (2,988) Louisville, KY |
| November 29, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Prairie View A&M | W 86–64 | 3–0 | 20 – Withers | 9 – Withers | 6 – Johnson | KFC Yum! Center (2,934) Louisville, KY |
| December 1, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Western Kentucky | W 75–54 | 4–0 | 21 – Davis | 9 – Withers | 8 – Johnson | KFC Yum! Center (3,013) Louisville, KY |
| December 4, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | UNC Greensboro | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| December 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 23 | NC State | 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 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| December 19, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 23 | at No. 12 Wisconsin ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 48–85 | 4–1 | 12 – Johnson | 7 – Williamson | 4 – Johnson | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| December 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Pittsburgh | W 64–54 | 5–1 (1–0) | 17 – Johnson | 12 – Williamson | 7 – Jones | Peterson Events Center (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 26, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN | | Kentucky Battle for the Bluegrass | W 62–59 | 6–1 | 20 – Jones | 9 – Withers | 4 – Johnson | KFC Yum! Center (3,281) Louisville, KY |
| January 2, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Boston College | W 76–64 | 7–1 (2–0) | 20 – Johnson | 9 – Jones | 6 – Jones | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 6, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN | | No. 19 Virginia Tech | W 73–71 | 8–1 (3–0) | 17 – Tied | 12 – Withers | 3 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (2,966) Louisville, KY |
| January 13, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | at Wake Forest | W 77–65 | 9–1 (4–0) | 23 – Jones | 11 – Williamson | 9 – Johnson | LJVM Coliseum (71) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 16, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | at Miami (FL) | L 72–78 | 9–2 (4–1) | 25 – Jones | 11 – Withers | 7 – Jones | Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL |
| January 18, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | Florida State | L 65–78 | 9–3 (4–2) | 17 – Jones | 9 – Withers | 3 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (3,024) Louisville, KY |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | Duke | W 70–65 | 10–3 (5–2) | 24 – Jones | 8 – Johnson | 5 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (3,219) Louisville, KY |
| January 27, 2021 9:00 p.m., RSN | No. 25 | at Clemson | L 50–54 | 10–4 (5–3) | 11 – Jones | 12 – Withers | 3 – Jones | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 30, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 25 | Boston College | 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 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| February 1, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Georgia Tech Makeup from Jan. 9 postponement | W 74–58 | 11–4 (6–3) | 24 – Johnson | 18 – Williamson | 8 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (2,868) Louisville, KY |
| February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | 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 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 14 Virginia | 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 | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA |
| February 10, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | Pittsburgh | 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 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| February 17, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN | | Syracuse | 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 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| February 20, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at North Carolina | L 54–99 | 11–5 (6–4) | 13 – Jones | 10 – Williamson | 4 – Johnson | Dean Smith Center (0) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Notre Dame | W 69–57 | 12–5 (7–4) | 18 – Jones | 13 – Withers | 4 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (2,948) Louisville, KY |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Duke | W 80–73 $^{OT}$ | 13–5 (8–4) | 25 – Jones | 12 – Williamson | 4 – Jones | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| March 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 22 Virginia Tech | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 21 Virginia | L 58–68 | 13–6 (8–5) | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Williamson | 6 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (4,812) Louisville, KY |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN | (7) | vs. (10) Duke Second round | L 56–70 | 13–7 | 14 – Johnson | 11 – Johnson | 3 – Jones | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | 16 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | RV | RV | 25 | 18 | RV | 23 | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings