2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

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
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record22–14 (9–9 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaKFC Yum! Center
Seasons
2017–18 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
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

edit

The 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

edit

On 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

edit

Departures

edit
Name 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

edit
Name 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

edit
 
Louisville recruit Brian Bowen at the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name 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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
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:

  • "2017 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.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

edit

On 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]

2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 V. J. King 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Paul VI Cleveland, Ohio
F 1 Lance Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Norcross Norcross, Georgia
G 2 Darius Perry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Wheeler Marietta, Georgia
G 3 Jo Griffin (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr South Oldham LaGrange, Kentucky
G 4 Quentin Snider 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Ballard Louisville, Kentucky
F/C 5 Malik Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Snider Fort Wayne, Indiana
G 12 Jacob Redding (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Carroll Fort Wayne, Indiana
F 13 Ray Spalding 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Trinity Louisville, Kentucky
F 14 Anas Mahmoud 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr West Oaks (FL) Cairo, Egypt
F 22 Deng Adel 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Victory Rock Prep Melbourne, Australia
C 23 Steven Enoch   6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr St. Thomas More
Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
F 24 Dwayne Sutton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So duPont Manuel
UNC Asheville
Louisville, Kentucky
G 30 Ryan McMahon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS So Cardinal Mooney Sarasota, Florida
F 33 Jordan Nwora 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Vermont Academy Buffalo, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
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

edit
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP16181917RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVNot released
Coaches16161817RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "With Rick Pitino on leave, assistant David Padgett to be Louisville interim head coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "Locked out of Rick Pitino's office, David Padgett is trying to lock in at Louisville". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Daniels, Evan (March 21, 2018). "David Padgett, Louisville part ways". 247sports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Greer, Jeff (March 27, 2018). "Louisville hires Chris Mack as new men's basketball coach". Courier Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Duke vs. Louisville - Game Recap - March 9, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "U of L gets No. 2 seed in Midwest Region". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "Louisville downs Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament: Score, stats, live updates recap". OregonLive.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "Michigan keeps NCAA tournament run going with upset of No. 2 Louisville". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  10. ^ "College basketball bribery scandal exposes "dark underbelly" of NCAA, prosecutor says". NBC News. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  12. ^ "University of Louisville scandal: Brian Bowen's mom says she 'didn't know anything'". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  13. ^ "Louisville basketball has an FBI investigation to worry about while still on NCAA probation". SBNation.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  14. ^ "Louisville's Pitino and Jurich placed on leave". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  15. ^ "Louisville suspends two assistants amid inquiry". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "David Padgett hires ex-head coach Trent Johnson as assistant". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "Louisville announces men's basketball assistant Jordan Fair fired without cause". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  18. ^ "Louisville interim coach Padgett adds Paulus as an assistant". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  19. ^ "Louisville coach Rick Pitino officially fired". SI.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  20. ^ "Rick Pitino Fired As Louisville Basketball Coach Amid Massive Bribery Probe". NPR.org. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  21. ^ "Sources: Cardinals suspend Bowen indefinitely". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  22. ^ "Louisville basketball's Brian Bowen hires attorney to seek reinstatement, remains on campus". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  23. ^ "Louisville's Brian Bowen hires attorney, seeks reinstatement from NCAA". MLive.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  24. ^ "Report: Louisville recruit Bowen hires attorney". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.