The 2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2017–18 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 David Padgett after former head coach Rick Pitino was fired due to an FBI investigation into the school.[1][2] They finished the season 22–14 overall, and 9–9 in ACC conference play, finishing in a tie for 8th with Florida State, who they defeated in the second round of the ACC tournament before losing to Virginia in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the NIT, where they defeated Northern Kentucky in the first round and Middle Tennessee in the second round before being defeated in the quarterfinals by Mississippi State.
2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball | |
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NIT, Quarterfinals | |
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Record | 22–14 (9–9 ACC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | KFC Yum! Center |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Virginia † | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 31 | – | 3 | .912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Duke | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 29 | – | 8 | .784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 22 Miami (FL) | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 10 | .688 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Clemson | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NC State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 North Carolina | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 26 | – | 11 | .703 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia Tech | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida State | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Louisville | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 22 | – | 14 | .611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notre Dame | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 21 | – | 15 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Syracuse | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 23 | – | 14 | .622 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boston College | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 19 | – | 16 | .543 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Tech | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 13 | – | 19 | .406 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wake Forest | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh | 0 | – | 18 | .000 | 8 | – | 24 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 2018 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll |
Following their NIT quarterfinal loss, Louisville announced that Padgett would not be retained as head coach.[3] On March 27, 2018, Xavier head coach Chris Mack was hired by Louisville.[4]
Previous season
editThe Cardinals finished the 2016–17 season with a record of 25–9, 12–6 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They lost to Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.[5] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region.[6] They defeated #15 Jacksonville State in the First Round[7] before being upset by #7 Michigan in the Second Round.[8]
FBI investigation
editOn September 26, 2017, federal prosecutors in New York announced that the school was under investigation for an alleged "pay for play" scheme involving recruits at Louisville.[9][10] The allegations state that an Adidas executive conspired to pay $100,000 to the family of a top-ranked national recruit to play at Louisville and to represent Adidas when he turned pro.[9][11] The criminal complaint does not name Louisville specifically but appears to involve the recruitment of Brian Bowen, a late, surprise commit to the school.[12][13] On September 27, head coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich were placed on administrative leave.[14]
Assistant coach David Padgett was named interim head coach on September 29.[1] On October 6, the school also placed associate head coach Kenny Johnson and assistant coach Jordan Fair on administrative leave.[15] On October 11, Louisville announced that Trent Johnson, former head coach at LSU and Stanford, was hired as an assistant coach.[16] On the same day, the school announced assistant coach Jordan Fair had been fired.[17] On October 19, Louisville hired former Ohio State assistant Greg Paulus as an assistant.[18]
On October 16, 2017, the school officially fired Rick Pitino as head coach.[19][20]
Offseason
editDepartures
editName | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tony Hicks | 1 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Graduate Student | South Holland, IL | Graduated |
Matz Stockman | 5 | F/C | 7'0" | 240 | Junior | Oslo, Norway | Transferred to Minnesota |
Jaylen Johnson | 10 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Junior | Ypsilanti, MI | Declare for 2017 NBA draft |
Jay Henderson | 11 | G | 6'4" | 180 | RS Sophomore | Orlando, FL | Walk-on; transferred |
Mangok Mathiang | 12 | F/C | 6'10" | 230 | RS Senior | Melbourne, Australia | Graduated/Went undrafted in 2017 NBA draft |
Tyler Sharpe | 15 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Freshman | Louisville, KY | Walk-on; transferred to Northern Kentucky |
David Levitch | 23 | F | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Goshen, KY | Graduated |
Donovan Mitchell | 45 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Sophomore | Greenwich, CT | Declare for 2017 NBA draft |
Incoming transfers
editName | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steven Enoch | 23 | C | 6'10" | 250 | Junior | Norwalk, CT | Transferred from Connecticut. Under NCAA transfer rules, Enoch will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
2017 recruiting class
editName | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brian Bowen SF |
Saginaw, MI | La Lumiere School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 3, 2017 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
Malik Williams C |
Fort Wayne, IN | Snider High School | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 4, 2016 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
Darius Perry PG |
Marietta, GA | Wheeler High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Aug 16, 2016 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
Jordan Nwora SF |
Buffalo, NY | Vermont Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 19, 2016 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
Lance Thomas PF |
Norcross, GA | Norcross High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 30, 2016 | |
Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
editOn September 27, 2017, the school suspended Brian Bowen from the team due to the ongoing FBI investigation.[21] On October 1, it was reported that Bowen had hired an attorney to seek reinstatement to the team.[22][23][24]
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Schedule and results
editDate time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
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Exhibition | |||||||||||
Oct 30, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra |
Kentucky Wesleyan | W 101–64 | – |
20 – Mahmoud | 7 – Tied | 5 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (14,818) Louisville, KY | ||||
Nov 7, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra |
No. 16 | Bellarmine | W 72–57 | 21 – Adel | 11 – Mahmoud | 6 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY | ||||
Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
Nov 12, 2017* 2:00 pm, RSN |
No. 16 | George Mason | W 72–61 | 1–0 |
20 – Adel | 9 – Mahmoud | 3 – 3 tied | KFC Yum! Center (18,304) Louisville, KY | |||
Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra |
No. 18 | Omaha | W 87–78 | 2–0 |
21 – Adel | 11 – Spalding | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (18,112) Louisville, KY | |||
Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, RSN |
No. 19 | Southern Illinois | W 84–42 | 3–0 |
18 – Nwora | 8 – Nwora | 7 – Perry | KFC Yum! Center (18,046) Louisville, KY | |||
Nov 24, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra |
No. 19 | Saint Francis (PA) | W 84–72 | 4–0 |
19 – Spalding | 13 – Spalding | 6 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (17,524) Louisville, KY | |||
Nov 28, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN |
No. 17 | at Purdue ACC–Big Ten Challenge |
L 57–66 | 4–1 |
17 – King | 9 – Spalding | 6 – Snider | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN | |||
Dec 3, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 |
No. 17 | Seton Hall Billy Minardi Classic |
L 77–79 | 4–2 |
20 – Adel | 8 – Spalding | 2 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (19,244) Louisville, KY | |||
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU |
Siena Gotham Classic |
W 86–60 | 5–2 |
17 – Mahmoud | 13 – Mahmoud | 5 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (22,090) Louisville, KY | ||||
Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN |
Indiana | W 71–62 | 6–2 |
16 – Adel | 14 – Spalding | 5 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (20,030) Louisville, KY | ||||
Dec 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU |
Bryant Gotham Classic |
W 102–59 | 7–2 |
17 – 3 tied | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (16,236) Louisville, KY | ||||
Dec 16, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 |
vs. Memphis Gotham Classic/Rivalry |
W 81–72 | 8–2 |
19 – Snider | 9 – Spalding | 5 – Snider | Madison Square Garden (6,525) New York, NY | ||||
Dec 20, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPNU |
Albany Gotham Classic |
W 70–68 | 9–2 |
19 – Snider | 9 – Sutton | 4 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (16,388) Louisville, KY | ||||
Dec 23, 2017* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra |
Grand Canyon | W 74–56 | 10–2 |
21 – Spalding | 16 – Spalding | 5 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (16,841) Louisville, KY | ||||
Dec 29, 2017* 1:00 pm, CBS |
at No. 16 Kentucky The Battle for the Bluegrass |
L 61–90 | 10–3 |
13 – Adel | 11 – Spalding | 4 – Snider | Rupp Arena (24,228) Lexington, KY | ||||
ACC regular season | |||||||||||
Jan 2, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU |
Pittsburgh | W 77–51 | 11–3 (1–0) |
19 – Snider | 8 – Sutton | 4 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (16,461) Louisville, KY | ||||
Jan 6, 2018 9:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
at No. 25 Clemson | L 69–74 OT | 11–4 (1–1) |
16 – Spalding | 14 – Spalding | 5 – Snider | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,594) Clemson, SC | ||||
Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, RSN |
at No. 23 Florida State | W 73–69 | 12–4 (2–1) |
16 – Adel | 6 – 3 tied | 6 – Snider | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,604) Tallahassee, FL | ||||
Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN2 |
Virginia Tech | W 94–86 | 13–4 (3–1) |
27 – Adel | 11 – Adel | 3 – 3 tied | KFC Yum! Center (16,798) Louisville, KY | ||||
Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 |
at Notre Dame | W 82–78 2OT | 14–4 (4–1) |
23 – Spalding | 12 – Spalding | 7 – Snider | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,076) South Bend, IN | ||||
Jan 21, 2018 12:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
Boston College | W 77–69 | 15–4 (5–1) |
18 – Adel | 11 – Spalding | 5 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (16,827) Louisville, KY | ||||
Jan 24, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN2 |
at Miami (FL) | L 75–78 OT | 15–5 (5–2) |
18 – Snider | 13 – Spalding | 3 – Snider | Watsco Center (7,190) Coral Gables, FL | ||||
Jan 27, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
Wake Forest | W 96–77 | 16–5 (6–2) |
15 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (17,215) Louisville, KY | ||||
Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 |
at No. 2 Virginia | L 64–74 | 16–6 (6–3) |
16 – Spalding | 7 – Spalding | 2 – 3 tied | John Paul Jones Arena (14,310) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
Florida State | L 76–80 | 16–7 (6–4) |
17 – Adel | 9 – Spalding | 7 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (18,305) Louisville, KY | ||||
Feb 5, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN |
Syracuse | L 73–78 | 16–8 (6–5) |
18 – Spalding | 9 – Spalding | 5 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (16,983) Louisville, KY | ||||
Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 |
Georgia Tech | W 77–54 | 17–8 (7–5) |
16 – Nwora | 7 – Mahmoud | 7 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (16,533) Louisville, KY | ||||
Feb 11, 2018 1:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
at Pittsburgh | W 94–60 | 18–8 (8–5) |
14 – 3 tied | 6 – 3 tied | 7 – Perry | Petersen Events Center (4,772) Pittsburgh, PA | ||||
Feb 17, 2018 8:15 pm, ESPN |
No. 14 North Carolina | L 76–93 | 18–9 (8–6) |
20 – Adel | 12 – Spalding | 6 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (21,210) Louisville, KY | ||||
Feb 21, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN |
at No. 5 Duke | L 56–82 | 18–10 (8–7) |
17 – Spalding | 10 – Spalding | 4 – Snider | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC | ||||
Feb 24, 2018 1:00 pm, CBS |
at Virginia Tech | W 75–68 | 19–10 (9–7) |
22 – Snider | 11 – Sutton | 8 – Adel | Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA | ||||
Mar 1, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV |
No. 1 Virginia | L 66–67 | 19–11 (9–8) |
18 – Adel | 9 – Spalding | 4 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (19,413) Louisville, KY | ||||
Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN |
at NC State | L 69–76 | 19–12 (9–9) |
20 – Adel | 7 – Tied | 6 – Snider | PNC Arena (18,975) Raleigh, NC | ||||
ACC Tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 7, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN2 |
(9) | vs. (8) Florida State Second Round |
W 82–74 | 20–12 |
19 – Snider | 8 – Adel | 6 – Snider | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY | |||
Mar 8, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN |
(9) | vs. (1) No. 1 Virginia Quarterfinals |
L 58–75 | 20–13 |
16 – Spalding | 6 – Spalding | 3 – Tied | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY | |||
NIT | |||||||||||
Mar 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN |
(2) | (7) Northern Kentucky First Round – Baylor Bracket |
W 66–58 | 21–13 |
20 – Adel | 13 – Spalding | 3 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (9,974) Louisville, KY | |||
Mar 18, 2018* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 |
(2) | (3) Middle Tennessee Second Round – Baylor Bracket |
W 84–68 | 22–13 |
18 – Spalding | 6 – King | 8 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (13,050) Louisville, KY | |||
Mar 20, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN |
(2) | (4) Mississippi State Quarterfinals – Baylor Bracket |
L 56–79 | 22–14 |
13 – Spalding | 11 – Spalding | 3 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (10,718) Louisville, KY | |||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |
Rankings
editWeek | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
AP | 16 | 18 | 19 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | Not released | |||
Coaches | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
References
edit- ^ a b "With Rick Pitino on leave, assistant David Padgett to be Louisville interim head coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
- ^ "Locked out of Rick Pitino's office, David Padgett is trying to lock in at Louisville". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ Daniels, Evan (March 21, 2018). "David Padgett, Louisville part ways". 247sports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ Greer, Jeff (March 27, 2018). "Louisville hires Chris Mack as new men's basketball coach". Courier Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ "Duke vs. Louisville - Game Recap - March 9, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "U of L gets No. 2 seed in Midwest Region". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville downs Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament: Score, stats, live updates recap". OregonLive.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "Michigan keeps NCAA tournament run going with upset of No. 2 Louisville". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ a b "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "College basketball bribery scandal exposes "dark underbelly" of NCAA, prosecutor says". NBC News. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "University of Louisville scandal: Brian Bowen's mom says she 'didn't know anything'". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville basketball has an FBI investigation to worry about while still on NCAA probation". SBNation.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville's Pitino and Jurich placed on leave". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville suspends two assistants amid inquiry". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ "David Padgett hires ex-head coach Trent Johnson as assistant". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville announces men's basketball assistant Jordan Fair fired without cause". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville interim coach Padgett adds Paulus as an assistant". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville coach Rick Pitino officially fired". SI.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Rick Pitino Fired As Louisville Basketball Coach Amid Massive Bribery Probe". NPR.org. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Sources: Cardinals suspend Bowen indefinitely". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville basketball's Brian Bowen hires attorney to seek reinstatement, remains on campus". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ "Louisville's Brian Bowen hires attorney, seeks reinstatement from NCAA". MLive.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ "Report: Louisville recruit Bowen hires attorney". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.