The Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team has seen some impressive performances from its players over the last five games. Senior guard El Ellis has had a standout stretch, averaging 21.0 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game while making 82.2% of his free throws. In the team’s game against Western Kentucky, Ellis set career highs with 30 points and 10 assists, becoming the first Cardinal to achieve these numbers since Reece Gaines in 2002. This feat has only been accomplished 22 times nationally since 2018, with Ellis being the first Division I player to do so this season.
Senior forward Sydney Curry has also seen an increase in his performance, averaging 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over the last five games while shooting 68% overall. His career-high of 19 rebounds against Florida A&M is the most by a Louisville player since 2004.
Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has also made a significant impact in the last two games, making 10 of 14 shots from the field for a 71.4% field goal percentage. This is a marked improvement from his performance in the previous four games, where he made just 39.1% of his shots.
Junior forward JJ Traynor has also seen success from beyond the arc, making 10 of 26 3-pointers this season, a significant improvement from his 7 of 16 3-pointers made in his first two seasons combined.
Freshman forward Kamari Lands has made an impact off the bench, averaging 8.8 points per game over the last five games and making 91.7% of his free throws. He is one of only 20 players in the country, and the only freshman, to shoot 91% or better from the free throw line on at least 35 attempts.
As a team, the Cardinals have consistently gotten to the free throw line and have made 73.8% of their attempts, ranking them 80th in the country in free throw percentage. In the last five games, Louisville has made 87 of 115 free throws, more than their opponents have even attempted.
Despite being a relatively inexperienced team with an average of 0.88 years of Division I experience according to Ken Pomeroy, the Cardinals have a tough stretch ahead with 12 games against top 90 KenPom ranked teams and 14 games against top 160 ranked teams. The overall record of their opponents during this stretch is 145-73.
In the team’s history against Syracuse, Louisville holds a 19-11 advantage. However, in the most recent meeting between the two teams, Syracuse emerged victorious with a 92-69 win. In the game, Buddy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards scored 19 points each and Joe Girard III scored 15 to lead the Orange to victory. Syracuse started the game strong, shooting 9 for 10 and never trailed. The Orange led 43-26 at halftime and extended their lead to 69-42 in the second half, eventually finishing the game shooting 55.2% overall and 52.2% from beyond the arc. Louisville was led by El Ellis and Samuell Williamson with 10 points each, while Jae’Lyn Withers scored 13 points and Noah Locke had 11.
