How it happened: Louisville keeps stumbling, falls to Virginia
Louisville lost one home game in conference play last season. Since the start of 2026, the Cardinals have fallen twice to ACC opponents on the Yum! Center floor — most recently falling to 16th-ranked Virginia 79-70.
Both Mikel Brown Jr. (back) and Khani Rooths (illness) both didn’t suit up for a Louisville team that only played seven guys for more than 10 minutes against the Cavaliers. Louisville eventually chipped into the lead, but after a 14-0 start for Virginia in the game’s first three and a half minutes, it was clear that Tuesday’s game was going to be an uphill climb.
Ryan Conwell didn’t play against Boston College after banging knees in practice, but gutted it out against the Cavaliers for 37 minutes. The senior guard added 14 points on 5-of-21 shooting.
Also struggling in the backcourt were Kobe Rodgers and Adrian Wooley, who combined for just five points on 1-of-9 shooting and two turnovers.
Louisville struggled from the floor, shooting just 35.8 percent, and Virginia also won at the foul line, attempting 29 free throws to the Cards’ 18. After a slow defensive start, Louisville ended up holding the Hoos to just 39.6 percent; 14 of Virginia’s 21 made shots were 3s, however.
Isaac McKneely had a season-high 23 points on five triples and was also perfect from the charity stripe. The senior spent the first three years of his career in Charlottesville, averaging 11.1 points and shooting 42.2 percent from 3-point range during his three-year Virginia career. Also making an impact was Egyptian center Aly Khalifa, who scored a team-high nine bench points in 18 minutes. The 7-footer, netted 2-of-6 3s.
Virginia’s Malik Thomas was 6-of-8 from distance enroute to a team-best 19 points. The Cavaliers had three in double figures, including Sam Lewis with 15 and Johann Grunloh with 16.
Louisville has now lost three of the last four games and drops to 12-5 on the season, and 2-3 in ACC play. The Cards travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Don’t miss out on Cardinal Sports +
- Our premium community forums
- A full year of access to The Athletic
- Get a fast start on finding out breaking news and behind-the-scenes details
- In-depth Louisville basketball and football analysis
- On3 and Rivals national membership
Join the discussion at Cardinal Sports.
