No. 16/13 Louisville Starts Conference Play with a Win

Tuesday, December 30

Berkeley, Calif.

9 p.m.

University of Louisville

11-2,1-0ACC

California

12-2,0-1ACC

Louisville

California

No. 16/13 Louisville Starts Conference Play with a Win

December 31, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Pat Kelsey Press Conference Postgame Notes Box Score (PDF)

The Cardinals’ starting lineup combined for 82 points, as all five scored in double-figures

By: CT Trodglen

BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 16/13 University of Louisville men's basketball started Atlantic Coast Conference play with a win, taking down the California Golden Bears, 90-70.

"I have a lot of respect for Mark (Madsen)," said head coach Pat Kelsey. "He's doing great things with his team, [12-1] coming into this game and they're dangerous. They obviously have some injuries, like we have some injuries. They really challenge you with how dynamic, quick and fast their guards are, it's hard to keep them out of the paint, both in transition and the half-court. That was a huge emphasis of ours in this game and I thought for the most part our guys did a pretty good job of it. They (California) play very hard and their team takes on the mentality of their coach, and nobody was nastier when they played than Mark (Madsen). A very good rebounding team that crashed the glass and we talked about meeting that challenge and I thought our guys did a good job. Fortunate to come out and win because last year you look at the ACC teams that came out here, there wasn't a great winning percentage. So, we turn our attention to another really tough one in a couple of days and looking forward to the challenge."

UofL (11-2) used the starting lineup of Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, Adrian Wooley, J'Vonne Hadley and Sananda Fru for the third consecutive game.

The Cards jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game and forced a Cal timeout just two minutes into the contest. Louisville's strong offensive start continued as the Cardinals took a 48-34 lead into the intermission, thanks to a 19-of-35 (54.3%) shooting performance from the field in the first half.

UofL stayed the course out of the break, building a 66-41 lead. The Golden Bears mounted a 14-0 run, cutting the Louisville advantage to 11 points. The Cardinals responded with a 17-2 stretch to get a game-high 26-point edge, that put the contest away.

Louisville had five players in double-figures tonight. Conwell led the way for the Cards, scoring a game-high 26 points, tacking on six makes from deep. Fru logged the first double-double of his collegiate career, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds. It was Louisville's first double-double since Nov. 6.

Wooley scored 21 points, his most as a Cardinal. He did it on an efficient 9-of-14 (64.2%) shooting, including three made three-pointers. Hadley just missed a double-double, finishing the contest with 11 points and nine rebounds. McKneely had 11 points, with three makes from behind-the-arc.

California (12-2) senior guard Chris Bell paced them with 20 points. The Golden Bears also got a strong effort out of sophomore guard Justin Pippen, who scored 17 points.

UofL dominated the glass, outrebounding Cal, 50-31. The Cardinals also dominated inside, outscoring the Golden Bears 36-16 in the paint.

Next for the Cardinals (11-2, 1-0 ACC) is a trip to Stanford on Friday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game can be found on ACC Network.