2023–24 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2023–24 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 (ACC). They were led by second-year head coach Kenny Payne.

2023–24 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record8–24 (3–17 ACC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDanny Manning (2nd season)
Assistant coaches
Home arenaKFC Yum! Center
Seasons
2023–24 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 North Carolina 17 3   .850 29 8   .784
No. 9 Duke 15 5   .750 27 9   .750
Virginia 13 7   .650 23 11   .676
Pittsburgh 12 8   .600 22 11   .667
Wake Forest 11 9   .550 21 14   .600
No. 14 Clemson 11 9   .550 24 12   .667
Syracuse 11 9   .550 20 12   .625
Virginia Tech 10 10   .500 19 15   .559
Florida State 10 10   .500 17 16   .515
No. 10 NC State 9 11   .450 26 15   .634
Boston College 8 12   .400 20 16   .556
Notre Dame 7 13   .350 13 20   .394
Georgia Tech 7 13   .350 14 18   .438
Miami (FL) 6 14   .300 15 17   .469
Louisville 3 17   .150 8 24   .250
2024 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

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 came at Miami (FL) on January 10, 2024. This was Payne's first road win as head coach.[1] 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.[2]

The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 11,504 in 18 games in 2023-24, the 28th highest in college basketball.[3]

Previous season

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The team's 0–9 start was its worst since the 1940–41 season, when the Cardinals began the season 0–11. Before their first win of the season against Western Kentucky on December 14, 2022,[4] the Cardinals contended with California for the worst start in modern history for any team that was at the time a member of a power conference, defined here as a member of a Power Five conference or the Big East Conference. California was the first such team to fall to 0–7, doing so on November 26, 2022; Louisville reached that mark three days later.[5] California fell to 0–12 before its first win of the season.[6] The Cardinals' start was still the worst for any team in ACC history.[4]

The Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season 4–28 and 2–18 in ACC play to finish in fifteenth place. As the fifteenth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost to tenth seed Boston College in the First Round. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Their 28 losses were the most in program history, and their four wins were the lowest since 1940–41.[7]

Offseason

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Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Devin Ree 0 F 6'8" 180 Freshman Jackson, MS Transferred to Louisiana Tech[8]
El Ellis 3 G 6'3" 180 Junior Durham, NC Transferred to Arkansas[9]
Roosevelt Wheeler 4 F/C 6'11" 240 Sophomore Richmond, VA Transferred to VCU[10]
Fabio Basili 11 G 6'4" 175 Freshman Orlando, FL Transferred to UT Arlington[11]
Sydney Curry 21 F 6'8" 270 Junior Fort Wayne, IN Transferred to Grand Canyon[12]
Kamari Lands 22 F 6'8" 220 Freshman Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Arizona State[13]
Jae'Lyn Withers 24 F 6'9" 230   Junior Charlotte, NC Transferred to North Carolina[14]
Ashton Myles-Devore 30 G 6'1" 165 Junior Versailles, KY Walk-on; transferred

Incoming transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Koron Davis 3 G 6'7" 185 Junior Gary, IN Los Angeles Southwest College[15]
Danilo Jovanovich 13 F 6'8" 205 Sophomore Milwaukee, WI Miami (FL)[16]
Tre White 22 G 6'7" 190 Sophomore Dallas, TX USC[17]
Skyy Clark 55 G 6'3" 200 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Illinois[18]

2023 recruiting class

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College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dennis Evans
#12 C
Riverside, CA Hillcrest High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Mar 12, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 85
Kaleb Glenn
#20 PF
Louisville, KY Louisville Male High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sep 24, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 84
Curtis Williams
#11 SF
Birmingham, MI Brother Rice High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sep 19, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 84
Ty-Laur Johnson
#21 PG
Bronx, NY Our Savior Lutheran High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) May 22, 2023 
Star ratings: 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:

  • "2023 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.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2024 recruiting class

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College recruiting information (2024)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
T.J. Robinson
#36 PG
Montclair, NJ Immaculate Conception High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Sep 24, 2021 
Star ratings: 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:

Roster

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2023–24 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 0 Mike James 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Oak Ridge Orlando, FL
G/F 1 Curtis Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Brother Rice Detroit, MI
G 3 Koron Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Bowman Academy
Los Angeles Southwest College
Gary, IN
G 4 Ty-Laur Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Our Saviour Lutheran School Brooklyn, NY
F 5 Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Scotland Campus Prep (PA)
Tennessee
Clarksville, TN
F 10 Kaleb Glenn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr La Lumiere School Louisville, KY
C 11 Dennis Evans 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Hillcrest Riverside, CA
F 12 JJ Traynor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Bardstown Bardstown, KY
F 13 Danilo Jovanovich 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Whitnall
Miami (FL)
Milwaukee, WI
G 15 Hercy Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Minnehaha Academy
Xavier
Minneapolis, MN
G 22 Tre White 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Prolific Prep
USC
Dallas, TX
G/F 23 Zan Payne (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Lexington Catholic
Kentucky
Lexington, KY
G 33 Aidan McCool (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Bishop England
Maryland
Charleston, SC
F/C 34 Emmanuel Okorafor 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So NBA Academy Africa Abia, Nigeria
G 55 Skyy Clark 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Montverde Academy
Illinois
Los Angeles, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 18, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Simmons (KY) W 91–50 
 15  Williams   9  Evans   6  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (11,118)
Louisville, KY
October 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Kentucky Wesleyan L 68–71 
 24  Clark   7  Tied   2  Tied  KFC Yum! Center (10,112)
Louisville, KY
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
UMBC W 94–93  1–0
 25  James   10  Tied   3  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (11,010)
Louisville, KY
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Chattanooga L 71–81  1–1
 17  Tied   14  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (10,634)
Louisville, KY
November 15, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Coppin State W 61–41  2–1
 12  James   12  White   2  Tied  KFC Yum! Center (10,501)
Louisville, KY
November 19, 2023*
3:30 p.m., ESPN
vs. No. 19 Texas
Empire Classic semifinals
L 80–81  2–2
 20  Tied   9  Huntley-Hatfield   6  Johnson  Madison Square Garden (17,647)
New York, NY
November 20, 2023*
4:30 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Indiana
Empire Classic consolation game
L 66–74  2–3
 19  Clark   9  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Johnson  Madison Square Garden (10,988)
New York, NY
November 26, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
New Mexico State W 90–84 OT 3–3
 29  Clark   9  Traynor   6  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (10,527)
Louisville, KY
November 29, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Bellarmine W 73–68  4–3
 21  Clark   10  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (11,538)
Louisville, KY
December 3, 2023
4:00 p.m., ACCN
at Virginia Tech L 68–75  4–4
(0–1)
 16  Clark   9  James   4  Tied  Cassell Coliseum (8,925)
Blacksburg, VA
December 9, 2023*
2:00 p.m., FS1
at DePaul L 68–75  4–5
 18  James   8  White   5  Johnson  Wintrust Arena (4,255)
Chicago, IL
December 13, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Arkansas State L 63–75  4–6
 20  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Huntley-Hatfield   3  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (10,401)
Louisville, KY
December 17, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ACCN
Pepperdine W 85–63  5–6
 20  Huntley-Hatfield   12  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (10,475)
Louisville, KY
December 21, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Kentucky
Rivalry
L 76–95  5–7
 20  Clark   11  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (17,293)
Louisville, KY
January 3, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Virginia L 53–77  5–8
(0–2)
 14  Williams   9  Tied   4  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,703)
Charlottesville, VA
January 6, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
Pittsburgh L 70–83  5–9
(0–3)
 23  James   7  Glenn   6  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (10,883)
Louisville, KY
January 10, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Miami (FL) W 80–71  6–9
(1–3)
 26  James   9  Huntley-Hatfield   6  Clark  Watsco Center (6,929)
Coral Gables, FL
January 13, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
NC State L 83–89  6–10
(1–4)
 20  James   10  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (12,114)
Louisville, KY
January 17, 2024
9:00 p.m., ACCN
at No. 4 North Carolina L 70–86  6–11
(1–5)
 16  Clark   6  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Tied  Dean Smith Center (20,298)
Chapel Hill, NC
January 20, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Wake Forest L 65–90  6–12
(1–6)
 17  White   6  White   6  Clark  LJVM Coliseum (9,261)
Winston-Salem, NC
January 23, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 12 Duke L 69–83  6–13
(1–7)
 20  Huntley-Hatfield   11  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (12,620)
Louisville, KY
January 27, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
Virginia L 52–69  6–14
(1–8)
 10  White   10  Huntley-Hatfield   2  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (11,381)
Louisville, KY
January 30, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Clemson L 64–70  6–15
(1–9)
 29  White   14  White   2  White  Littlejohn Coliseum (6,760)
Clemson, SC
February 3, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Florida State W 101–92  7–15
(2–9)
 29  Huntley-Hatfield   7  Tied   11  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (11,287)
Louisville, KY
February 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Syracuse L 92–94  7–16
(2–10)
 23  Clark   13  Huntley-Hatfield   6  Johnson  JMA Wireless Dome (19,426)
Syracuse, NY
February 10, 2024
6:30 p.m., ACCN
Georgia Tech W 79–67  8–16
(3–10)
 15  Glenn   13  Glenn   5  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (11,891)
Louisville, KY
February 13, 2024
9:00 p.m., ACCN
at Boston College L 77–89  8–17
(3–11)
 21  Tied   9  Huntley-Hatfield   7  Johnson  Conte Forum (3,459)
Chestnut Hill, MA
February 17, 2024
6:30 p.m., ACCN
at Pittsburgh L 59–86  8–18
(3–12)
 17  Glenn   11  White   5  James  Petersen Events Center (11,419)
Pittsburgh, PA
February 21, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame L 50–72  8–19
(3–13)
 18  Clark   8  Clark   3  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (11,342)
Louisville, KY
February 28, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at No. 10 Duke L 59–84  8–20
(3–14)
 15  White   10  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Tied  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
March 2, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Syracuse L 76–82  8–21
(3–15)
 18  James   11  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (11,011)
Louisville, KY
March 5, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Virginia Tech L 64–80  8–22
(3–16)
 19  Huntley-Hatfield   8  Glenn   4  Johnson  KFC Yum! Center (10,544)
Louisville, KY
March 9, 2024
5:30 p.m., The CW
Boston College L 61–67  8–23
(3–17)
 14  Huntley-Hatfield   9  Huntley-Hatfield   5  Clark  KFC Yum! Center (11,615)
Louisville, KY
ACC Tournament
March 12, 2024
4:30 p.m., ACCN
(15) vs. (10) NC State
First round
L 85–94  8–24
 36  Clark   7  Huntley-Hatfield   4  Huntley-Hatfield  Capital One Arena (7,523)
Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:[19]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP
Coaches

References

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  1. ^ Today, Rick Bozich, WDRB (January 11, 2024). "Louisville makes major deposit, toppling Miami, 80-71, ending 22-game road losing streak". WDRB.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Louisville fires men's hoops coach Kenny Payne, starts search". ESPN. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  3. ^ http://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Attend.pdf
  4. ^ a b "Louisville tops Western Kentucky for first win of season". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Baer, Jack (November 29, 2022). "Louisville, Cal fall to 0–7, simultaneously post worst starts in major conference history". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  6. ^ "Cal snaps losing streak with 73–51 victory over UT Arlington". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  7. ^ Rutherford, Mike (March 7, 2023). "Louisville ends worst season in program history with 80–62 loss to Boston College". cardchronicle.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "Basketball Roster Grows with Addition of Devin Ree". latechsports.com. Louisiana Tech Athletics. May 1, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Borzello, Jeff (April 17, 2023). "Louisville transfer El Ellis committing to Arkansas". ESPN. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. ^ Franck, Cameron (April 18, 2023). "Louisville transfer center Roosevelt Wheeler commits to VCU". bigredlouie.com. FanSided. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Men's Basketball Adds Louisville Transfer Fabio Basili". utamavs.com. UT Arlington Athletics. May 25, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "Curry bulks up GCU for strong career finish". gculopes.com. Grand Canyon Athletics. May 18, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "ASU hoops nabs F Kamari Lands, a Louisville transfer". Arizona Sports. April 4, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Nelson, Hunter (April 11, 2023). "Former Louisville forward Jae'Lyn Withers commits to UNC men's basketball". dailytarheel.com. The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  15. ^ McGavic, Matthew (April 13, 2023). "Louisville Officially Announces Addition of JUCO Guard Koron Davis". si.com. FanSided. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Brown, Russ (May 18, 2023). "Cards sign 2 from transfer portal, giving them 8 commitments for next season". kentuckytoday.com. Kentucky Today. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  17. ^ CJ Moore; Sam Vecenie (May 6, 2023). "Former USC guard Tre White transferring to Louisville: What he brings to Cardinals". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "Cardinals Add Transfer Guard Skyy Clark". gocards.com. Louisville Cardinals Athletics. April 12, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  19. ^ "2023–2024 Schedule". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved September 22, 2023.