LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville lost its first exhibition to Kansas on Friday night, and the hand-wringing commenced. But exhibition losses aren't death sentences. They're diagnostics.
Purdue has lost exhibitions in each of the past two years, and played in the 2024 NCAA championship game. Tennessee lost an exhibition to Indiana last October. The Vols wound up in the Elite Eight. The Hoosiers wound up firing their coach.
So Tuesday night, Louisville gets another shot when Bucknell visits for a 7 p.m. exhibition in the Kentuckiana Friends of V Classic. Another Division I opponent. Another set of lessons.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
Bucknell comes in off an 18-15 season in which they went 13-5 in the Patriot League, but they must replace their best player, Patriot League player of the year, 7-foot center Noah Williamson, who is now at Alabama. They return a pair of senior starters, and four players expected to start Tuesday saw extensive action last season. Junior forward Ruot Bijiek, who averaged 8.8 points per game, will look to take a major step up.
Bucknell is no stranger to tough road games against Power 4 opponents. Last season they played road games at Kentucky, Maryland and Gonzaga. This season they'll face Pittsburgh and St. John's and Iowa in the regular season.
The Bison are resilient. Last season, they played a Division I record nine overtime games, and won five of them. They began the year 4-10, then wound up winning a share of the Patriot League regular-season title with a team that posted the program's first winning record since 2018-19.
LOOKING AT LOUISVILLE
It's another chance for the Cardinals to sharpen themselves. Coach Pat Kelsey was clear after Friday's loss to Kansas: “We have a great teaching tool that I am excited to dive into right away,” he said. “We'll use this to get better.”
Louisville's primary issues Friday were no mystery: 21 turnovers, 33.3 percent shooting, and too many open looks surrendered in the paint. Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. went 2-for-15 and looked like he was pressing. Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson looked like he was levitating. The Cardinals got good energy from Ryan Conwell (26 points, 10 rebounds), but not enough interior presence or defensive consistency.
Against Bucknell, Louisville will look for cleaner offense, steadier shot selection, and more productivity from its frontcourt rotation. With big man Kasean Pryor still rehabbing a knee injury, Sananda Fru will log plenty of minutes to try to acclimate to college basketball. Kelsey said after the Kansas game that his team's strength will be its steady improvement — that process continues Tuesday.
How to Watch: Louisville vs. Bucknell (exhibition)
When: Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2025
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
Streaming only: ACC Network Extra (Kent Taylor, Larry O'Bannon). How to stream: If your cable or live TV streaming service includes ACC Network, you already have access to ACC Network Extra. Just go to ESPN.com/watch or open the ESPN app, sign in using your TV provider credentials, and search for the game. You may also click this link.
Radio: 93.9 FM (Paul Rogers, Bob Valvano). Streaming audio: ESPN Louisville app.
Tickets: Proceeds benefit Kentuckiana Friends of V and the V Foundation for cancer research. Purchase by clicking here.
Donate: If you can't come to the game, you can donate to the Kentuckiana Friends of V by clicking here.
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