LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University men's basketball team gets its 2022-23 season started on Wednesday, Nov. 9 as the Knights travel just four and a half miles from campus to the KFC Yum! Center to face the University of Louisville in a 9 p.m. game.
 
The matchup will be the first between the schools since Bellarmine moved to Division I and the first official game between the two since Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport's second season leading the Knights.  The Cardinals won that Dec. 10, 2006 contest 76-64 in the NABC Classic at Freedom Hall.
 
Bellarmine is coming off a 20-13 season that culminated in the ASUN Conference championship.  Top returners for the Knights include 2022 starters Juston Betz and Curt Hopf.  Betz picked up preseason accolades when the ASUN coaches voted him Defensive Player of the Year, and Hopf was named to the ASUN's All-Freshman Team last season.  Both averaged 7.0 points per game last year, and Betz was the team's top rebounder with an average of 7.1.
 
In Bellarmine's lone exhibition game this year—a 71-34 triumph over Centre, seniors Garrett Tipton and Bash Wieland led the scoring attack with 15 and 14 points respectively.  That duo, along with freshman Peter Suder, joined Betz and Hopf in the starting lineup against Centre.
 
Louisville, under first-year coach Kenny Payne, is coming off a 13-19 season that ended with a 51-50 loss to Virginia in the second round of the ACC Tournament.  In the preseason, the Cards played two exhibition games, falling 47-57 to Lenoir-Rhyne and defeating Chaminade 80-73.
 
The Cardinals return just six scholarship players from last year's team, which equates to approximately 33 percent of the team's scoring. Top returning scorers are El Ellis and Syndey Curry who averaged 8.7 and 7.1 points per game respectively.
 
The game will be televised through the ACC Network with Wes Durham and Dan Bonner on the call.  Bellarmine fans can tune in to the Knights' regular radio coverage with play-by-play man Doug Ormay and analyst Mark Bugg.  The Bellarmine radio broadcast will be found on ESPN Radio 680 AM/105.7 FM.
 
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