University of Louisville forward Deng Adel and center Mangok Mathiang will miss the Cardinals’ game at Virginia tonight after violating their team’s Saturday night curfew.
“After we returned to Louisville, I boarded the team bus and told them how proud I was of them, but the most important thing now is to get their rest as we had an early morning practice and had to travel,” said UofL Coach Rick Pitino. “For some reason, Mangok and Deng chose to break curfew and were out very late. This is an extremely big game for our basketball team and it would be an understatement to say that I am extremely disappointed in both young men. That being said, we will move forward and put forth a great effort with a depleted team. Mangok is no longer a captain of our team. Donovan Mitchell has now been inserted in that role.”
The losses take the Cardinals down to seven scholarship players for tonight’s game. UofL was already shorthanded with 11 scholarship players this season and two are currently out with recent injuries, including guards Quentin Snider (strained hip flexor) and Tony Hicks (broken bone in hand).
Neither Adel or Mathiang traveled with the team to Charlottesville, Va. Both had been playing particularly well lately. A starter in 22 games and the Cardinals’ third-leading scorer (11.1 points per game), Adel has scored in double figures in the last five games, including a career-high 19 points at Boston College. He has averaged 13.8 points over the last five games while shooting 52.1 percent from the field (25-of-48).
Mathiang has averaged 12.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and shot 67 percent from the field over the last five games, scoring nine or more points in each game. He scored a season-high 16 points at Boston College and had 13 points, matched a career-best with 13 rebounds and blocked two shots at Florida State for his first double-double of the season.
by Kenny Klein
