2017–18 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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 .
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
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
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
Departures
Incoming transfers
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
Louisville recruit Brian Bowen at the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game .
College recruiting information
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
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
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
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
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
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:
Roster
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 MoreConnecticut
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
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
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP 16 18 19 17 RV RV RV RV RV — — RV RV RV — RV Not released Coaches 16 16 18 17 RV RV RV RV RV RV — — RV RV RV RV
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
References
^ a b "With Rick Pitino on leave, assistant David Padgett to be Louisville interim head coach" . CBSSports.com . Retrieved September 29, 2017 .
^ "Locked out of Rick Pitino's office, David Padgett is trying to lock in at Louisville" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
^ Daniels, Evan (March 21, 2018). "David Padgett, Louisville part ways" . 247sports.com . Retrieved March 21, 2018 .
^ Greer, Jeff (March 27, 2018). "Louisville hires Chris Mack as new men's basketball coach" . Courier Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2018 .
^ "Duke vs. Louisville - Game Recap - March 9, 2017 - ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "U of L gets No. 2 seed in Midwest Region" . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "Louisville downs Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament: Score, stats, live updates recap" . OregonLive.com . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "Michigan keeps NCAA tournament run going with upset of No. 2 Louisville" . USA TODAY . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ a b "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation" . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "College basketball bribery scandal exposes "dark underbelly" of NCAA, prosecutor says" . NBC News . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation" . Indianapolis Star . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "University of Louisville scandal: Brian Bowen's mom says she 'didn't know anything' " . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "Louisville basketball has an FBI investigation to worry about while still on NCAA probation" . SBNation.com . Retrieved September 26, 2017 .
^ "Louisville's Pitino and Jurich placed on leave" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 27, 2017 .
^ "Louisville suspends two assistants amid inquiry" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
^ "David Padgett hires ex-head coach Trent Johnson as assistant" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 12, 2017 .
^ "Louisville announces men's basketball assistant Jordan Fair fired without cause" . CBSSports.com . Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
^ "Louisville interim coach Padgett adds Paulus as an assistant" . USA TODAY . Retrieved October 23, 2017 .
^ "Louisville coach Rick Pitino officially fired" . SI.com . Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
^ "Rick Pitino Fired As Louisville Basketball Coach Amid Massive Bribery Probe" . NPR.org . Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
^ "Sources: Cardinals suspend Bowen indefinitely" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
^ "Louisville basketball's Brian Bowen hires attorney to seek reinstatement, remains on campus" . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
^ "Louisville's Brian Bowen hires attorney, seeks reinstatement from NCAA" . MLive.com . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
^ "Report: Louisville recruit Bowen hires attorney" . ESPN.com . Retrieved October 6, 2017 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NAIA and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics