No. 6 Cardinals Defeat No. 22 Indiana 87-78

Saturday, December 6

Indianapolis, Ind. | Gainbridge Fieldhouse

2:15 p.m.

University of Louisville

8-1,0-0ACC

#22 Indiana

7-2,0-1Big Ten

Indiana

Louisville

December 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Score Louisville vs. Indiana Postgame Notes Pat Kelsey, Ryan Conwell, J'Vonne Hadley Press Conference Photo Gallery

Five Cardinals finish in double figures, led by Ryan Conwell's 21 points

INDIANAPOLIS – Five Cardinals scored in double figures as the No. 6-ranked University of Louisville men's basketball team defeated No. 22 Indiana 87-78 Saturday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 8-1 on the season while Indiana dropped to 7-2.

"I thought it was a big-time college basketball game in a big-time environment and a big-time venue," said UofL head coach Pat Kelsey. "This is an unbelievably exciting day in [Indianapolis] with, obviously, the [Big 10] championship game of football tonight and this game - there was a buzz in the city and there was a buzz tonight. I credit Indiana. Darian [DeVries] is a really, really good coach, a good dude. I've known him for a long time… [Indiana is] a bear to prepare for. They force you to be on it on the defensive end, your communication, your urgency; you can't relax at any second. I thought, for the most part, our guys did that."

Ryan Conwell led Louisville with 21 points, going 4-of-10 from the field with three 3-pointers and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. J'Vonne Hadley added a season-high 15 points, going 6-of-13 from the field and grabbed six rebounds. Isaac McKneely connected on five 3-pointers and also finished with15 points. Sananda Fru scored 12 points on 3-of-3 shooting with a 3-pointer and a 5-of-7 performance from the charity stripe while pulling down a team-high seven boards and adding three steals. Kobe Rodgers poured in a season-high 12 points off the bench behind perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field with two 3-pointers in 13 minutes of action.

The Hoosiers were paced by Tucker DeVries who tallied a game-high 26 points with four 3-pointers and a 12-of-13 performance from the free-throw line. Nick Dorn connected on five from deep and finished with 15 points while Lama Wilkerson added 12 points for Indiana.

Louisville got the offense started early with a layup by Hadley on the Cardinals' first possession. The Cards were off and running, going 6-of-10 from the field to take a 16-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game.

Indiana missed its first eight shots of the game before Sam Alexis broke through with a dunk to open an 8-0 run as the Hoosiers quickly cut the lead in half, but Fru connected on a 3-pointer to extend Louisville's lead to 19-8 entering the under-12 media timeout.

The Hoosiers scored five unanswered points, pulling within five at 19-14 before an 8-2 run gave the Cards some breathing room. The teams continued to trade baskets and Louisville would go on to outscore Indiana 8-4 in the closing minutes of the half to take a 41-27 lead into the break.

Conwell tallied 11 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes, as the Cards shot 45% (13-of-29) and 44% from 3-point range and held a 21-18 edge in rebounds.

In the first seven minutes of the second half, IU outscored Louisville 17-9 to cut the deficit to eight at 52-44, but Conwell buried a three to stop the momentum and Cardinals punched back with a 15-4 run to take a 19-point lead, their largest of the contest at 67-48.

Louisville's lead hovered between 14 and 19 points until the Hoosiers used a 9-2 run to pull within seven with 35 seconds left to play. Free throws by Brown and Conwell down the stretch sealed the 87-78 win.

In the game, Louisville shot 46% from the field (25-of-54) including 13-of-31 from deep. Louisville was 24-of-28 from the free throw line including a perfect 17-of-17 in the second half.

Indiana finished the game shooting 41% (26-of-63) and 32% (11-of-34) from 3-point range. Each team committed 13 turnovers with the Hoosiers converting 17 points while Louisville had 11 points off of turnovers. The teams were evenly matched with 34 rebounds apiece with IU holding a 10-7 edge in offensive boards and an 18-5 advantage in second chance points.

"After a really tough loss the other day at Arkansas, we just kept preaching response," said Kelsey. "[Ryan Conwell and J'Vonne Hadley are] two examples of very, very mature upperclassmen, professional guys that approached the last two days the right way, with the rest of their teammates, and we were able to bounce back and get a big win here tonight."

The Cardinals return to action on Dec. 13 at the KFC Yum! Center when they play host to Memphis at 3:30 p.m. in an ESPN-televised game.