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 | |
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Baha Mar Hoops champions | |
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Record | 13–19 (6–14 ACC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | KFC Yum! Center |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
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
Suspension of Chris Mack
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
Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
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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 due to personal reasons |
Aidan Igiehon | 22 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Sophomore | Dublin, Ireland | Transferred to Grand Canyon |
Incoming transfers
Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
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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
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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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: | ||||||
Sources:
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2022 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits | ||||||
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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: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
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Schedule and results
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
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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
Week | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
AP | RV | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
References
- Lyons, Dan. "Louisville Basketball Makes Official Decision on Coach Chris Mack". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- "Mack out at Louisville: 'You've gotta win games'". ESPN.com. January 26, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- "Louisville hires Kenny Payne: Cardinals set to introduce ex-player, former Kentucky assistant as new coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- "Louisville is First Alternate for NCAA men's basketball tournament".
- "NCAA tournament snubs Louisville, Duke among teams to turn down NIT". Yahoo! Sports.
- Russell, Shannon. "Louisville basketball denied bid into 2021 NCAA Tournament, won't accept NIT invite". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- Conway, Tyler. "All 68 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams Cleared to Play After COVID-19 Testing". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- Forde, Pat. "Mack Feels Wrath of Ongoing Louisville Scandal Fallout". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- "Louisville suspends coach Chris Mack for first six games of upcoming season for breaking school rules". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- "Louisville suspends Mack six games without pay". ESPN.com. August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- Borzello, Jeff. "Kentucky vs. Louisville men's basketball game postponed due to COVID-19 issues with Cardinals". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- "2021–2022 Schedule". gocards.com. University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved September 21, 2021.