# 2014–15 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 101st season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, in his fourteenth season at U of L. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville.
They finished 27–9, 12–6 in ACC play, placing 4th, and earning a double bye in the ACC tournament. Louisville lost its first ever ACC Tournament game to North Carolina and earned at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In their 41st NCAA Tournament appearance, they defeated UC Irvine, Northern Iowa, and NC State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Michigan State.
On February 20, 2018, the NCAA announced that Louisville will be forced to vacate wins and records from the 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, and 2014–15 seasons.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Russ Smith | 2 | SG | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Brooklyn, New York | Graduated. Entered the 2014 NBA draft |
| Kevin Ware | 5 | SG | 6'4" | 170 | Junior | Bronx, New York | Transferred to Georgia State |
| Luke Hancock | 11 | SG | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Roanoke, Virginia | Graduated |
| Tim Henderson | 15 | SG | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Louisville, Kentucky | Graduated |
| Stephan Van Treese | 44 | C | 6'9" | 245 | Senior | Indianapolis, Indiana | Graduated |

## Class of 2014 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Shaqquan Aaron SG | Seattle, Washington | Rainier Beach | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Feb 16, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Quentin Snider PG | Louisville, Kentucky | Ballard | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Nov 15, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Chinanu Onuaku C | Upper Marlboro, Maryland | Riverdale Baptist | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Apr 10, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Anas Osama Mahmoud C | Cairo, Egypt | West Oaks Academy | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Mar 3, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jaylen Johnson PF | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Ypsilanti | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 16, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Matz Stockman C | Oslo, Norway | Canarias Basketball Academy | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Nov 19, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 8 Rivals: 7 ESPN: 8 ||||||
| 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: "Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "2014 Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Roster

* Akoy Agau left the team at the end of U of L's fall semester after having played only 11 minutes in three games this season. He transferred to Georgetown, where he will be eligible in December 2015 with two-and-a-half remaining seasons of eligibility.
* Chris Jones was dismissed from the team on February 22. He had been suspended from the Syracuse game on February 18 after having sent a threatening text message to a woman he had dated, but was reinstated several days later. After playing against Miami on February 21, he missed that night's curfew, leading to his dismissal. Several days after that, Jones was charged with rape stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred the night of the Miami game. In late April, a grand jury chose not to indict Jones and his two co-defendants in the case.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1* 12:30 pm, WAVE–TV | No. 8 | Barry | W 91–71 | – | 22 – Blackshear | 8 – Tied | 7 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (19,237) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 9* 12:30 pm, WAVE–TV | No. 8 | Bellarmine | W 82–57 | – | 17 – Harrell | 9 – Harrell | 4 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (20,432) Louisville, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 14* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | vs. Minnesota Armed Forces Classic | W 81–68 | 1–0 | 30 – Harrell | 7 – Harrell | 4 – Rozier | CGAS Borinquen (1,693) Aguadilla, PR |
| Nov 17* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 7 | Jacksonville State Global Sports Showcase | W 88–39 | 2–0 | 15 – Harrell | 10 – Onuaku | 5 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (20,479) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 21* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | Marshall Global Sports Showcase | W 85–67 | 3–0 | 18 – Jones | 11 – Tied | 5 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (21,661) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 24* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 6 | Savannah State Global Sports Showcase | W 87–26 | 4–0 | 15 – Harrell | 9 – Tied | 3 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (19,514) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 26* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 6 | Cleveland State Global Sports Showcase | W 45–33 | 5–0 | 15 – Harrell | 13 – Harrell | 3 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (20,887) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 2* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 14 Ohio State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 64–55 | 6–0 | 22 – Blackshear | 10 – Harrell | 7 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (22,784) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 5* 7:00 pm, RSN | No. 5 | FIU | W 82–57 | 7–0 | 15 – Gill | 12 – Harrell | 5 – Onuaku | KFC Yum! Center (20,541) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 9* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | vs. Indiana Jimmy V Classic | W 94–74 | 8–0 | 26 – Rozier | 11 – Harrell | 5 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (11,617) New York, NY |
| Dec 14* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 | UNC Wilmington Billy Minardi Classic | W 68–57 | 9–0 | 19 – Harrell | 17 – Harrell | 2 – Blackshear | KFC Yum! Center (20,913) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 20* 12:00 pm, FS1 | No. 4 | at WKU | W 76–67 | 10–0 | 32 – Rozier | 6 – Tied | 3 – Blackshear | E. A. Diddle Arena (7,598) Bowling Green, KY |
| Dec 23* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 | Cal State Northridge | W 80–55 | 11–0 | 31 – Blackshear | 7 – Mahmoud | 5 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (20,231) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 27* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | No. 1 Kentucky Battle for the Bluegrass Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout | L 50–58 | 11–1 | 15 – Rozier | 8 – Tied | 1 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (22,812) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 30* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 5 | Long Beach State | W 63–48 | 12–1 | 23 – Rozier | 7 – Tied | 3 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (18,248) Louisville, KY |
| ACC regular season |||||||||
| Jan 4 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 5 | at Wake Forest | W 85–76 | 13–1 (1–0) | 25 – Harrell | 13 – Harrell | 10 – Jones | LJVM Coliseum (10,862) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Jan 7 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 5 | Clemson | W 58–52 | 14–1 (2–0) | 22 – Jones | 9 – Mathiang | 4 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (21,676) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 10 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at No. 18 North Carolina | L 71–72 | 14–2 (2–1) | 25 – Rozier | 8 – Onuaku | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 13 7:00 pm, RSN | No. 6 | Virginia Tech | W 78–63 | 15–2 (3–1) | 16 – Rozier | 8 – Tied | 11 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (21,684) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 17 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | No. 4 Duke | L 52–63 | 15–3 (3–2) | 17 – Rozier | 14 – Harrell | 4 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (22,791) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 25 1:30 pm, CBS | No. 10 | at Pittsburgh | W 80–68 | 16–3 (4–2) | 26 – Rozier | 7 – Harrell | 9 – Jones | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 28 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 10 | at Boston College | W 81–72 | 17–3 (5–2) | 28 – Jones | 5 – Harrell | 5 – Rozier | Conte Forum (5,119) Chesnut Hill, MA |
| Jan 31 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | No. 13 North Carolina | W 78–68 $^{OT}$ | 18–3 (6–2) | 22 – Tied | 15 – Harrell | 4 – Paige | KFC Yum! Center (22,418) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 3 8:00 pm, ACCN | No. 9 | at Miami (FL) | W 63–55 | 19–3 (7–2) | 22 – Rozier | 9 – Harrell | 5 – Jones | BankUnited Center (6,563) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 7 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 3 Virginia | L 47–52 | 19–4 (7–3) | 16 – Rozier | 7 – Blackshear | 5 – Rozier | John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) Charlottesville, VA |
| Feb 11 8:00 pm, ACCN | No. 9 | Pittsburgh | W 69–56 | 20–4 (8–3) | 28 – Harrell | 12 – Harrell | 3 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (22,132) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 14 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | NC State | L 65–74 | 20–5 (8–4) | 20 – Jones | 13 – Harrell | 3 – Jones | KFC Yum! Center (22,410) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 18 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at Syracuse | L 59–69 | 20–6 (8–5) | 17 – Rozier | 11 – Onuaku | 4 – Tied | Carrier Dome (26,160) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 21 2:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2 | No. 12 | Miami (FL) | W 55–53 | 21–6 (9–5) | 21 – Harrell | 14 – Harrell | 2 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (21,345) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 23 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | at Georgia Tech | W 52–51 | 22–6 (10–5) | 22 – Rozier | 8 – Tied | 4 – Snider | Hank McCamish Pavilion (7,009) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 28 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Florida State | W 81–59 | 23–6 (11–5) | 18 – Blackshear | 9 – Mathiang | 9 – Rozier | Donald L. Tucker Center (8,844) Tallahassee, FL |
| Mar 4 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | No. 12 Notre Dame | L 59–71 | 23–7 (11–6) | 23 – Harrell | 12 – Harrell | 5 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (21,024) Louisville, KY |
| Mar 7 6:30 pm, ESPN | No. 16 | No. 2 Virginia | W 59–57 | 24–7 (12–6) | 20 – Harrell | 12 – Harrell | 4 – Rozier | KFC Yum! Center (22,788) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 12 2:40 pm, ACCN/ESPN | No. 14 | vs. No. 19 North Carolina Quarterfinals | L 60–70 | 24–8 | 20 – Rozier | 12 – Harrell | 6 – Snider | Greensboro Coliseum (22,026) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 20* 4:10 pm, TBS | (4 E) No. 17 | vs. (13 E) UC Irvine Second round | W 57–55 | 25–8 | 19 – Blackshear | 7 – Blackshear | 5 – Rozier | KeyArena (14,509) Seattle, WA |
| Mar 22* 9:40 pm, TBS | (4 E) No. 17 | vs. (5 E) No. 11 Northern Iowa Third round | W 66–53 | 26–8 | 25 – Rozier | 6 – Tied | 7 – Rozier | KeyArena (14,901) Seattle, WA |
| Mar 27* 7:30 pm, TBS | (4 E) No. 17 | vs. (8 E) NC State Sweet Sixteen | W 75–65 | 27–8 | 24 – Harrell | 14 – Rozler | 4 – Tied | Carrier Dome (24,453) Syracuse, NY |
| Mar 29* 2:20 pm, CBS | (4 E) No. 17 | vs. (7 E) No. 23 Michigan State Elite Eight | L 70–76 $^{OT}$ | 27–9 | 28 – Blackshear | 9 – Harrell | 4 – Harrell | Carrier Dome (24,404) Syracuse, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | n/a |
| Coaches | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 10 |