Louisville Cardinals (0-0) vs. Chattanooga Mocs (0-0)
Game Time: 9 p.m.
Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.
Television: ACC Network
Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst)
Favorite: Louisville by 30.5
Series: Tied, 6-6
Last Meeting: Chattanooga won 81-71 on Nov. 10, 2023 in Louisville
Series History:
Projected Starting Lineups:
Louisville
- G Jackson Shelstad (6-1, 185, Sr.)
- G Adrian Wooley (6-4, 205, Jr.)
- G Seth Trimble (6-3, 200, 5th)
- F Alvaro Folgueiras (6-10, 230, Sr.)
- F Flory Bidunga (6-9, 235, Jr.)
Chattanooga
- G Tre Powell (6-0, 170, Jr.)
- G Matt Hampton (6-4, 180, Jr.)
- G Tate Darner (6-4, 180, So.)
- F Tyler Houser (6-9, 225, Sr.)
- F Yonathan Levy (6-10, 260, Jr.)
Statistics:
Relevant Videos:
About South Chattanooga:
After winning 29 games and an NIT title in 2024-25,
last season was one to forget for Dan Earl and Chattanooga. Injuries and constant lineup shuffling resulted in a 13-19 record (Earl’s first losing season with the porgram) and a first round exit at the SoCon Tournament.
The Mocs hope that 11 newcomers and a strong injection of international flare will result in better days ahead.
Five transfers, three international additions and three high school signees make up the incoming group for Earl. It’s a roster featuring players from five different countries, four continents and 11 states. The Mocs have also made a concerted effort to get bigger. Seven of the 11 newcomers stand at least 6’6, giving Earl considerably more size and physicality to work with than he had a season ago.
The Mocs needed the newcomers to replace 81.7% of its scoring and 77.1% of its minutes with four starters, and seven reserves, gone from last year’s squad. In total, the team is replacing 2,004 points, 4,934 minutes, 806 rebounds, 394 assists, 697 field goals made and 271 three-point field goals made.
The one guy Earl didn’t need to replace this offseason was now-sophomore guard Tate Darner, a preseason All-SoCon selection and the son of legendary college hoops coach Linc Darner (currently at D-II Tampa). The lone returning starter from last year’s team, Darner averaged 9.9 ppg while leading the team in rebounding (133 total; 4.4 RPG) and set a school freshman record with 53 made three-pointers in 30 games (18 starts).
Additional returners for Chattanooga include senior F Sean Cusano (missed final 26 games due to injury), sophomore F/C Josh Bowmann (23 GP; 23 blocks set UTC freshman record), junior G Houston Holland (28 GP; 10.1 MPG), junior G/F Liam Vitters and sophomore G Zach Bleshoy (missed season due to injury). Bleshoy, a former 3-star recruit who averaged 28 ppg his senior year in high school, is particularly interesting.
Of the five players from the portal that Earl added in the spring, four look like contributors. Chief among those are a pair of guards in juniors Matt Hampton and Tre Powell. Hampton is a 6’4 combo guard from JUCO Three Rivers College, appearing in 65 games in two seasons, which he garnered the No. 15 overall ranking coming out the JUCO ranks, according to JUCOrecruiting.com. Powell joins the UTC after spending a couple of seasons at Division-II Goldey-Beacom, averaging an impressive 19.4 PPG, 3.5 APG and 3.4 RPG.
Chattanooga will be better than they were a season ago. They’re bigger, they’re healthier and they’re more experienced. Earl is a proven coach with a “see, share, shoot” mentality that has already served the program well over the last three years.
Having said all of that, this is not a team that should be in the game against a team like Louisville deep into the second half.
Notable:
—Louisville has won 21 of its last 22 season-openers, and 29 of its last 32. The Cards had won 18 consecutive season-openers before a 2022 loss to Bellarmine.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 2-0 all-time in games against Chattanooga, with both victories coming during Kelsey’s stint at Charleston.
—Louisville’s No. 11 ranking is the highest for a Chattanooga opponent in a season opener since playing at No. 6 Kansas (L, 76-90) on Nov. 21, 2003.
—Louisville is the highest-ranked opponent the Moics have faced since a trip to No. 8 Michigan (L, 55-83) on Nov. 23, 2018.
—Louisville has a 269-85 record against non-conference opponents over the last 26 seasons.
—Louisville is 17-8 all-time against current members of the Southern Conference. The Cards snapped a two-game losing streak to teams from the conference with a 76-61 win over Winthrop in Pat Kelsey’s first season.
—Chattanooga is tipping off its 50th season as a Division-I program.
—Louisville returns just 10.3 percent of its scoring (305 of 2,949 points), 10.5 percent of its rebounding (407 of 1,342 boards), 10.4 percent of its assists (62 of 597) and 11.39 percent of its minutes played (797 of 7,000) from last season’s team. Junior Adrian Wooley is the only scholarship player to return for the Cardinals.
—Chattanooga’s win over Kenny Payne and Louisville in 2023 marked its fist victory over an ACC opponent since the 1985 NIT, when the Mocs knocked off Clemson.
—After being named ACC Coach of the Year in 2025, head coach Pat Kelsey joined an elite group of eight active head coaches who have won the Coach of the Year distinction in three or more Division-I conferences. Kelsey was named Big South COY in 2021 and CAA COY in 2024 before being hired at Louisville.
—In four seasons, Chattanooga head coach Dan Earl has led the Mocs to an 81-57 record, a Southern Conference regular-season title and the 2025 National Invitation Tournament championship. His 68 wins over his first three seasons are a program record for a head coach’s first three years.
—Louisville has a 196-27 record in home regular season non-conference games over the last 25 seasons. The Cardinals are 120-18 at home in regular season non-conference games over the last 16 seasons.
—Inside the KFC Yum Center, Louisville has a 116-18 record in non-conference games.
—After going 59-0 in November home games from 1991 to 2021, Louisville has lost at least one November home game in four of the last five seasons.
—Before 2021, Louisville’s last November home loss had come in 1972.
—Louisville is 40-5 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading at halftime.
—Louisville is 0-10 under head coach Pat Kelsey when trailing by 5 points or more at halftime.
—Louisville is 50-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play. The Cardinals are also 1-19 under Kelsey when trailing with five minutes to play.
—Louisville is 14-0 over the past 11 seasons when limiting opponents to no more than one three-point field goal.
—Louisville is 122-0 all-time when scoring 100 or more points in non-overtime games.
—Louisville has won 167 consecutive games when holding an opponent under 50 points.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 93, Chattanooga 65
