How it happened: No. 19 Kansas handles No. 11 Louisville in exhibition opener
Louisville basketball was in action for the first time of the 2025-26 season on Friday, taking on No. 19 Kansas in an exhibition, and the Cards shot themselves into a 90-82 loss.
The game won’t count, but the Yum! Center was rocking for the second year of the Pat Kelsey era, before Kansas came out of the gates with a dominant first half, outscoring U of L 46-30 at the break, with 24 coming from five-star freshman Darryn Peterson. On the other hand, the Cards guards shot a combined 3-of-23 from the floor — not a recipe for success against a top-caliber program.
Peterson finished the game with 26 points, on 9-of-15 shooting in just 25 minutes. Former Cardinal and Jayhawks guard Tre White was second on KU with 14 points.
Louisville’s offense crawled through the opening minutes, missing six of its first seven 3-pointers and ultimately finishing the game 11-of-38 (29 percent) from beyond the arc. The Cards also struggled taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over 20 times. The Jayhawks were able to score 18 points off of them.
Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell led Louisville in scoring with 26 and was able to get to the foul line at a nice rate. The senior shot 9-of-12 from the charity stripe and also grabbed three rebounds.
Freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. struggled in his debut, shooting just 2-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-10 from distance. Brown exited in the second half after turning his ankle, but later returned to the floor. He also turned the ball over just once.
While the Cardinals’ frontcourt players struggled, J’Vonne Hadley finished with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Isaac McKneely was the other Cards in double-figures with 10 points on two made 3s.
Kansas constantly put Louisville’s big men in binds by attacking the basket and using the dunker’s spot to their advantage. The Jayhawks outscored Louisville 34-20 in the paint.
Some of the good news for the Cardinals on Friday included outrebounding KU 47-34, with 21 of them coming on the offensive end, and getting to the foul line for 39 free throw attempts.
In the end, Louisville couldn’t overcome a 33 percent shooting night, and one where Kansas made seven more field goals and made 50 percent of its shots.
Louisville hosts Bucknell in its second exhibition of the season next Tuesday with tip-off at 7 PM EST.
