No. 20/20 Louisville Falls at No. 4/4 Duke

Monday, January 26

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

University of Louisville

14-6,4-4ACC

#4 Duke

19-1,8-0ACC

Louisville

Duke

January 26, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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

Louisville drops road conference game 83-52 at Cameron Indoor

By: Zach Zsido

DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 20/20-ranked University of Louisville men's basketball team lost to No. 4/4 Duke 83-52 on Monday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Cardinals drop to 14-6 overall and 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, and the Blue Devils improve to 19-1 and 8-0 in the ACC.

"We got our butt kicked," said UofL head coach Pat Kelsey. "That's about the extent of my statement. I don't have much else to say other than it was a butt-kicking. Credit Duke for that. Every metric that you would look at that speaks to a butt kicking – that's what the stat sheet says. They got 47 boards off of misses, they were plus-21 on the backboard. They were the aggressor, they imposed their will at the basket, in the paint - I think we were 5-for-21 from two. Credit them, it was a butt-kicking. All we can do is dust ourselves off and run back to work and use this as something that helps us get better. But, Duke was the aggressor, they were the tougher team tonight and we got our butt kicked, credit them."

Ryan Conwell led the Cards with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting including 4 of 9 from deep, while adding a team high two steals. J'Vonne Hadley scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high five boards.

Cameron Boozer recorded a double-double, earning a game high 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting and securing 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba added 15 points each. Duke shot 31 of 61 from the field and 8 of 23 from beyond the arc as a team.

Conwell and Hadley got the scoring started for the Cards, each knocking down a three in the first 2:27 of the game. A quick scoring run by Duke was stopped by a Conwell layup, followed by a shot beyond the arc from Adrian Wooley and a Sananda Fru fastbreak dunk to bring UofL within two, 16-18, with 13:02 left in the half.

The game remained scoreless for nearly three minutes before the Blue Devils made a pair of layups. Hadley then scored six straight after notching a shot from deep and an and-1, with Conwell giving the Cardinals the first lead of the night, 25-24, on a fastbreak three-pointer with 4:30 until the break. Free throws from Mikel Brown Jr. and Fru sent Louisville into the locker room down 38-28.

Brown Jr. got on the board first for the Cards in the second half with a pair of free throws. Aly Khalifa hit a three and Conwell made a fastbreak layup bringing the score to 48-35. Five shots from deep by Isaac McKneeley, Brown Jr. and Conwell paced UofL the next 11:44. Duke maintained control of the rest of the game, leading to an 83-52 win.

The Cardinals will return home to host the SMU Mustangs on Saturday, January 31 at the KFC Yum! Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.