2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2021–22 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 Mike Pegues. The Cardinals finished the season 13–19 overall and 6–14 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for eleventh place. As the eleventh seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated fourteenth seed Georgia Tech in the First Round before losing to sixth seed Virginia in the Second Round.

2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Baha Mar Hoops champions
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record13–19 (6–14 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaKFC Yum! Center
Seasons
2021–22 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 9 Duke 16 4   .800 32 7   .821
North Carolina 15 5   .750 29 10   .744
Notre Dame 15 5   .750 24 11   .686
Miami (FL) 14 6   .700 26 11   .703
Wake Forest 13 7   .650 25 10   .714
Virginia 12 8   .600 21 14   .600
Virginia Tech 11 9   .550 23 13   .639
Florida State 10 10   .500 17 14   .548
Syracuse 9 11   .450 16 17   .485
Clemson 8 12   .400 17 16   .515
Louisville 6 14   .300 13 19   .406
Boston College 6 14   .300 13 20   .394
Pittsburgh 6 14   .300 11 21   .344
Georgia Tech 5 15   .250 12 20   .375
NC State 4 16   .200 11 21   .344
2022 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Head coach Chris Mack was fired on January 26, 2022, after starting the season 11–9.[1] Associate coach Mike Pegues was named the interim coach for the remainder of the season.[2] On March 16, the school named former Louisville player Kenny Payne the team's new head coach.[3]

Previous season

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In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cardinals finished the season 13–7, 8–5 to finish in seventh place in ACC play. They lost to Duke in the second round of the ACC tournament. They were listed as an alternate team for the NCAA tournamentshould a team be unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues.[4] The team declined an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament prior to the NCAA Tournament field being announced.[5][6] When all teams were able to participate in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals season ended.[7]

Offseason

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Suspension of Chris Mack

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On August 27, 2021, the school announced that head coach Chris Mack would be suspended for the first six games of the season due to his part in an attempt by former assistant Dino Gaudio to blackmail Mack.[8] Gaudio, who was a longtime assistant to Mack and whom Mack had let go following the completion of the 2020–21 season, had attempted to blackmail Mack with allegations of relatively minor misconduct by Mack and the team in violation of NCAA rules.[9] The school said that Mack was being suspended for failing to follow university guidelines regarding the matter.[10] Gaudio pled guilty to extortion for his actions in the matter.[9]

Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Carlik Jones 1 G 6'1" 185 GS Senior Cincinnati, OH Graduated/undrafted in 2021 NBA draft
Hogan Orbaugh 3 C 6'8" 235 Sophomore Zionsville, IN Walk-on; didn't return
Quinn Slazinski 11 F 6'8" 215 Sophomore Houston, TX Transferred to Iona
David Johnson 13 G 6'5" 210 Sophomore Louisville, KY Declared for 2021 NBA draft
Josh Nickelberry 20 G 6'4" 205 Sophomore Fayetteville, NC Transferred to La Salle
Charles Minlend 21 G 6'4" 220 GS Senior Concord, NC Left the team for personal reasons
Aidan Igiehon 22 F 6'10" 245 Sophomore Dublin, Ireland Transferred to Grand Canyon

Incoming transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Noah Locke 0 G 6'3" 205 Senior Baltimore, MD Florida
El Ellis 3 G 6'3" 175 Junior Durham, NC Tallahassee CC
Mason Faulkner 11 G 6'1" 190 Graduate Student Glasgow, KY Western Carolina
Jarrod West 13 G 5'11" 180 Graduate Student Clarksburg, WV Marshall
Sydney Curry 23 F 6'8" 260 Junior Fort Wayne, IN John A. Logan College
Matt Cross 33 F 6'7" 225 Sophomore Beverly, MA Miami (FL)

2021 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Mike James
#18 SF
Orlando, FL Oak Ridge High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sep 9, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 83
Roosevelt Wheeler
#13 C
Richmond, VA John Marshall High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Nov 16, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 83
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:

  • "2021 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.
  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2022 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
D'Ante Davis
#36 SF
Indianapolis, IN Lawrence Central High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Dec 5, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    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:

Roster

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2021–22 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Noah Locke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr McDonogh School
Florida
Baltimore, MD
G/F 1 Mike James 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Oak Ridge Orlando, FL
F 2 Sam Bearden (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Holy Cross Louisville, KY
G 3 El Ellis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Quality Education Academy
Tallahassee CC
Durham, NC
F/C 4 Roosevelt Wheeler 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr John Marshall Richmond, VA
F/C 5 Malik Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) GS Snider Fort Wayne, IN
F 10 Samuell Williamson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Rockwall Rockwall, TX
G 11 Mason Faulkner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Carvena
Western Carolina
Glasgow, KY
F 12 JJ Traynor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Bardstown Bardstown, KY
G 13 Jarrod West 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Notre Dame
Marshall
Clarksburg, WV
G/F 14 Dre Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lawrence Central Indianapolis, IN
F 15 Drew Schultz (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Rockwall Rockwall, TX
F 21 Sydney Curry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Northrop
John A. Logan College
Fort Wayne, IN
C 23 Gabe Wiznitzer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Hargrave Military Academy Walhalla, SC
F 24 Jae'Lyn Withers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS So Cleveland Heights Charlotte, NC
G 30 Ashton Myles-Devore (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Woodford County Versailles, KY
F 33 Matt Cross 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Brewster Academy
Miami (FL)
Beverly, MA
G 45 Brad Colbert (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So International Sports Academy Loveland, OH
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 29, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
Kentucky State W 94–45 
 15  Locke   15  Withers   4  West  KFC Yum! Center (13,023)
Louisville, KY
November 3, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
West Georgia W 103–51 
 15  Tied   8   Withers   5  Tied  KFC Yum! Center (12,477)
Louisville, KY
Regular season
November 9, 2021*
9:00 p.m., ACCRSN
Southern W 72–60  1–0
 16  Locke   14  Williamson   5  West  KFC Yum! Center (12,643)
Louisville, KY
November 12, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
Furman L 72–80 OT 1–1
 20  Locke   10  Williams   7  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (12,431)
Louisville, KY
November 15, 2021*
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Navy W 77–60  2–1
 14  Cross   5  Williams   5  Tied  KFC Yum! Center (12,223)
Louisville, KY
November 20, 2021*
2:00 p.m., ACCNX
Detroit Mercy
Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship campus game
W 73–67  3–1
 18  Davis   9  Tied   3  Williams  KFC Yum! Center (12,561)
Louisville, KY
November 25, 2021*
9:30 p.m., CBSSN
vs. Mississippi State
Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship semifinals
W 72–58  4–1
 15  Williamson   10  Williams   3  West  Baha Mar Convention Center (0)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 27, 2021*
10:00 a.m., CBSSN
vs. Maryland
Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship
W 63–55  5–1
 13  Williams   12  Williams   6  West  Baha Mar Convention Center (0)
Nassau, Bahamas
December 1, 2021*
7:15 p.m., ESPN
at No. 22 Michigan State
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 64–73  5–2
 22  Ellis   8  Williams   3  Tied  Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
December 4, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
at NC State W 73–68  6–2
(1–0)
 14  Williams   12  Williams   6  West  PNC Arena (13,092)
Raleigh, NC
December 10, 2021*
8:00 p.m., ACCN
DePaul L 55–62  6–3
 22  Williams   8  Tied   4  Davis  KFC Yum! Center (13,127)
Louisville, KY
December 14, 2021*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
Southeastern Louisiana W 86–60  7–3
 15  Williams   10  Williams   5  West  KFC Yum! Center (12,247)
Louisville, KY
December 18, 2021*
3:00 p.m., CBS
at Western Kentucky L 72–82  7–4
 20  Locke   6  Withers   4  West  E. A. Diddle Arena (7,053)
Bowling Green, KY
December 22, 2021*
6:00 p.m., ESPN
at No. 20 Kentucky
Rivalry
Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[11] Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
December 29, 2021
9:00 p.m., ACCN
Wake Forest W 73–69  8–4
(2–0)
 17  Locke   8  Tied   5  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (14,120)
Louisville, KY
January 2, 2022
2:00 p.m., ACCN
at Georgia Tech W 67–64  9–4
(3–0)
 20  Williams   10  Williams   4  Tied  McCamish Pavilion (4,853)
Atlanta, GA
January 5, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Pittsburgh W 75–72  10–4
(4–0)
 18  Ellis   8  Curry   4  Tied  KFC Yum! Center (11,973)
Louisville, KY
January 8, 2022
8:00 p.m., ESPN2
Florida State L 70–79  10–5
(4–1)
 14  Ellis   7  Tied   3  Tied  Donald L. Tucker Center (9,527)
Tallahassee, FL
January 12, 2022
9:00 p.m., ACCN
NC State L 63–79  10–6
(4–2)
 22  Curry   10  Curry   3  Locke  KFC Yum! Center (11,973)
Louisville, KY
January 15, 2022
4:00 p.m., ACCN
at Pittsburgh L 53–65  10–7
(4–3)
 12  Williams   13  Williams   2  3 tied  Petersen Events Center (8,431)
Pittsburgh, PA
January 19, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCRSN
Boston College W 67–54  11–7
(5–3)
 13  Curry   8  Williams   7  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (12,123)
Louisville, KY
January 22, 2022
4:00 p.m., ESPN
Notre Dame L 70–82  11–8
(5–4)
 14  West   9  Withers   5  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (16,175)
Louisville, KY
January 24, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at Virginia L 52–64  11–9
(5–5)
 14  West   6  Cross   3  West  John Paul Jones Arena (13,076)
Charlottesville, VA
January 29, 2022
12:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Duke L 65–74  11–10
(5–6)
 16  Davis   12  Williams   4  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (18,493)
Louisville, KY
February 1, 2022
6:00 p.m., ACCN
North Carolina L 83–90 OT 11–11
(5–7)
 25  Ellis   15  Cross   4  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (13,386)
Louisville, KY
February 5, 2022
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Syracuse L 69–92  11–12
(5–8)
 13  Withers   10  Curry   5  West  Carrier Dome (23,298)
Syracuse, NY
February 9, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Notre Dame L 57–63  11–13
(5–9)
 20  Withers   6  Wheeler   3  West  Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,260)
South Bend, IN
February 16, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCRSN
Miami (FL) L 63–70  11–14
(5–10)
 18  Davis   7  Tied   1  6 tied  KFC Yum! Center (12,065)
Louisville, KY
February 19, 2022
3:00 p.m., ACCRSN
Clemson W 70–61  12–14
(6–10)
 15  Locke   10  Withers   3  Ellis  KFC Yum! Center (13,242)
Louisville, KY
February 21, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at North Carolina L 63–70  12–15
(6–11)
 10  3 tied   7  Withers   5  West  Dean Smith Center (18,618)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 26, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Wake Forest L 77–99  12–16
(6–12)
 28  Curry   7  Curry   3  Faulkner  LJVM Coliseum (8,139)
Winston-Salem, NC
March 1, 2022
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Virginia Tech L 43–75  12–17
(6–13)
 18  Curry   11  Curry   4  West  Cassell Coliseum (8,925)
Blacksburg, VA
March 5, 2022
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
Virginia L 61–71  12–18
(6–14)
 24  Curry   14  Curry   7  Faulkner  KFC Yum! Center (13,085)
Louisville, KY
ACC Tournament
March 8, 2022
7:00 p.m., ACCN
(11) vs. (14) Georgia Tech
First round
W 84–74  13–18
 20  West   10  Williams   6  Ellis  Barclays Center (6,222)
Brooklyn, NY
March 9, 2022
9:30 p.m., ESPN2
(11) vs. (6) Virginia
Second round
L 50–51  13–19
 11  Williams   13  Williams   3  West  Barclays Center (8,174)
Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:[12]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APRVRVNot released
Coaches

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

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  1. ^ Lyons, Dan. "Louisville Basketball Makes Official Decision on Coach Chris Mack". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Mack out at Louisville: 'You've gotta win games'". ESPN.com. January 26, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Louisville hires Kenny Payne: Cardinals set to introduce ex-player, former Kentucky assistant as new coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Louisville is First Alternate for NCAA men's basketball tournament".
  5. ^ "NCAA tournament snubs Louisville, Duke among teams to turn down NIT". Yahoo! Sports.
  6. ^ Russell, Shannon. "Louisville basketball denied bid into 2021 NCAA Tournament, won't accept NIT invite". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Conway, Tyler. "All 68 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams Cleared to Play After COVID-19 Testing". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  8. ^ Forde, Pat. "Mack Feels Wrath of Ongoing Louisville Scandal Fallout". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Louisville suspends coach Chris Mack for first six games of upcoming season for breaking school rules". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "Louisville suspends Mack six games without pay". ESPN.com. August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Borzello, Jeff. "Kentucky vs. Louisville men's basketball game postponed due to COVID-19 issues with Cardinals". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "2021–2022 Schedule". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved September 21, 2021.