DALLAS— Louisville basketball will try to score its sixth win in a row today as the 21st-ranked Cardinals (19-6, 8-4 ACC) wrap up a two-game Texas road trip with a rematch against SMU (17-8, 6-6). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. At Moody Coliseum.
UofL stuck around the Lone Star State after notching an 82-71 win over Baylor last Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. Locked up the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week award by following up a 45-point performance Feb. 9 vs. N.C. State with a game-high 29 points, six assists and five steals against the Bears.
“I love where our team’s at,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said after the victory. “I love my team — love everything about them. I love the competitive makeup of it. I love the pieces and the talent they bring together. I love their approach. I love their professionalism. I love their selflessness. I love my team.”
Led by second-year coach Andy Enfield, SMU entered the week at 38th in KenPom.com’s adjusted efficiency rankings and 36th in the NET — making today’s game a Quad 1 opportunity for Louisville. The Mustangs are 2-2 since falling to the Cardinals on Jan. 31 at the KFC Yum! Center and are coming off a 79-78 loss at Syracuse over the weekend that was decided in the final seconds of regulation.
Here are UofL’s starters: Mikel Brown Jr., Isaac McKneely, Ryan Conwell, J’Vonne Hadley and Sananda Mrs.
Here are SMU’s starters: BJ Edwards, Boopie Miller, Jaron Pierre Jr., Corey Washington, and Samet Yigitoglu.
The game between the Cards and the Mustangs will air on ESPN2. Wes Durham (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) will be on the call.
If you subscribe to a cable package, you’ll be able to livestream the game via ESPN.com and the ESPN app. If you don’t have cable, you can livestream the game via Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Jody Demling (analyst) will have the call on the Cardinal Sports Network (WLCL 93.9-FM and WGTK 970-AM in Louisville). You can also listen online via GoCards.com.
Betting odds: Louisville is a 3½-point favorite on DraftKings which set the over/under at 167½ points.
KenPom gives the Cards a 58% chance of winning and projects an 84-82 final score in their favor. BartTorvik.com is also forecasting a UofL victory (55%) with a projected final score of 84-83.
The officials for today’s game are Ron Groover, Bill Covington Jr. And Gregory Nixon.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
