How No. 9 Kentucky matches up vs. No. 12 Louisville — with a game prediction
How the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats (2-0) and the No. 12 Louisville Cardinals (2-0) match up at each position for Tuesday’s NCAA men’s college basketball contest — with a game prediction:
Small forward
• Kentucky’s Collin Chandler (14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 53.3% treys) has been the Wildcats’ primary 3-point marksman so far this season. In UK’s blowout wins against Nicholls (77-51) and Valparaiso (107-59), the 6-foot-5, 205-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, has hit a combined eight of 15 treys. Going back to the final seven games of the 2024-25 season, Chandler has made 20 of his past 39 3-point attempts. Chandler did not play in UK’s 93-85 win against U of L at Rupp Arena last season.
• Louisville’s Ryan Conwell (15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 41.7% treys) had 19 points and eight rebounds in U of L’s 106-70 win against Jackson State on Thursday. A 6-4, 215-pound senior from Indianapolis, Conwell has made five of 12 3-pointers so far this season. Conwell’s college career symbolizes the current era of heightened player mobility: Louisville is his fourth team after playing for South Florida (2022-23), Indiana State (2023-24) and Xavier (2024-25). While playing for Xavier last season, Conwell averaged 12.0 points in two contests against SEC foes, South Carolina and Texas.
Advantage: Louisville.
Power forward
• Through two games, Kentucky junior Mouhamed Dioubate (10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 61.5% FGs) is the Wildcats’ combined leader in the plus/minus metric at plus-53. While playing last season for Alabama, the 6-7, 220-pound product of Queens, New York, came up huge in an early-season showdown between ranked teams. In the No. 9 Crimson Tide’s 85-80 overtime victory against No. 6 Houston in the finals of the Players Impact Tournament, Dioubate had 10 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots in 28 minutes.
• A 6-10, 220-pound sophomore, Louisville’s Khani Rooths (18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 61.9% FGs) has looked like a breakout player in the Cardinals’ first two games. The Washington, D.C., product had 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in U of L’s 103-45 smacking of South Carolina State in the season opener. He followed that up with a double-double, 16 points and 10 boards, in the victory over Jackson State. In 13 minutes against UK last season, Rooths did not score and had one rebound.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Center
• Kentucky junior Brandon Garrison (10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 80% FGs) had five points, four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes against Louisville last season. The 6-10, 245-pound product of Oklahoma City was also part of a tussle in front of the U of L bench. “Stuff happened,” Garrison said Friday night. “I wasn’t trying to do (anything) purposely, but it’s just part of the rivalry.”
• Louisville junior Sananda Fru (10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 75% FGs) is a 6-11, 245-pound native of Berlin, Germany, who was named the winner of the 2024-25 Basketball Bundesliga’s Best German Young Player Award. The 22-year-old has started the American college portion of his hoops career by making nine of his first 12 field-goal attempts while averaging 20.5 minutes a game.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Shooting guard
• Kentucky senior Otega Oweh (14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 52.6% FGs) played well against Louisville in 2024-25. The 6-4, 220-pound product of Newark, New Jersey, hit seven of 11 shots against the Cardinals last season and finished with 17 points, three assists and two steals. As UK’s top returning player, Oweh will be counted on to perform well as the Wildcats play in a true road environment for the first time this season.
• Louisville’s Isaac McKneely (12.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 41.2% treys) played his first three college seasons at Virginia, where he developed the reputation as a 3-point marksman. The 6-4, 195-pound senior from Poca, West Virginia, is a career 42.2% 3-point shooter. So far this season, McKneely is 7-for-17 from behind the arc.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Point guard
• Kentucky’s Denzel Aberdeen (11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 58.3% FGs) had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in the win against Valparaiso. The 6-5, 195-pound senior was the top backcourt reserve on Florida’s 2025 NCAA championship team. In the Gators’ six NCAA Tournament games, the Orlando product averaged 6.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 18.2 minutes a contest.
• Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. (14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 52.9% FGs) is expected to be a one-and-done player and is widely projected to be chosen in the top 10 of the 2026 NBA draft. The 6-5, 180-pound Brown, who is from Orlando, Florida, just missed his first college double-double in the win over Jackson State, finishing with 18 points and nine assists.
Advantage: Louisville.
Bench
• After battling a shoulder injury, Kentucky junior point guard Jaland Lowe (6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 28.6% FGs) made his initial UK appearance in the win against Valparaiso. The 6-1, 170-pound product of Missouri City, Texas, went for six points and five assists in 18 minutes. In his first two college seasons at Pittsburgh, Lowe faced U of L four times and averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists as the Panthers went 2-2 against the Cardinals. … Freshman center Malachi Moreno (11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 52.6% FGs), the 7-foot, 250-pound former Great Crossing star, had his first college double-double against Valparaiso with 18 points and 10 rebounds, plus three assists, in 21 minutes. … Jasper Johnson (10.0 points, 4.5 assists, 50% FGs), the 6-5, 180-pound former Woodford County star, has nine assists versus five turnovers in his initial two college contests … Sophomores Kam Williams (1.0 points, 16.7% FGs) and Andrija Jelavic (6.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 38.5% FGs, 16.7% treys) have yet to get their perimeter shooting dialed in.
• Louisville power forward Kasean Pryor (6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 37.5% FGs) made himself a focus of the 2025-26 renewal of Cats-Cards with some choice words directed toward UK. … Senior guard Kobe Rodgers (8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 33.3% FGs) has started the season 2-for-6 on 3-pointers. … A freshman standout at Kennesaw State last season, sophomore guard Adrian Wooley (7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 57.1% FGs) was a coveted “get” for Pat Kelsey out of the transfer portal. … Former BYU center Aly Khalifa (2.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 66.7% FGs) played for Kentucky coach Mark Pope with the Cougars in 2023-24. … Super-senior wing J’Vonne Hadley (13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 71.4% FGs) missed the win over Jackson State while in concussion protocol. The 6-7, 210-pound wing had 10 points and six rebounds against UK last season.
Advantage: Even.
Trends and history
• Kentucky coach Mark Pope is 1-0 in his career against Louisville.
• Louisville head man Pat Kelsey is 0-2 in his career versus Kentucky — 0-1 at U of L and 0-1 as Winthrop coach.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Louisville 40-17.
▪ UK leads the modern series (since 1982-83) with U of L 31-14.
▪ The Wildcats have won six of the past seven, 14 of the past 17 and 17 of the past 22 men’s basketball meetings with the Cardinals.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Prediction
Kentucky 95, Louisville 91.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
