Louisville Cardinals (0-0) vs. Mercyhurst Lakers (0-0)
Exhibition Game Two
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.
Television: ACC Network Extra/Watch ESPN
Announcers: Kent Taylor (play-by-play) and Larry O’Bannon (analyst)
Favorite: No line
Series: First Meeting
Statistics:
Relevant Videos:
About Mercyhurst:
Coming from Erie, Pa., Mercyhurst is coming off of its most successful season as a member of Division-I, which would be a bit more impressive if it wasn’t just their second year as a member of Division-I. The Lakers won 17 games in 2025-26 and advanced all the way to the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game, where they fell to Long Island by nine. Those two teams are once again No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason NEC poll.
The biggest reason for optimism for this squad is junior guard Jake Lemelman, who returns after averaging 13.9 points per game and earning All-NEC Third Team honors. Lemelman started every game last season and gives the Lakers a proven scoring option to build around.
Lemelman is joined by Tennessee Rainwater, a 6’7 senior guard/forward who arrives after spending last season at Le Moyne. Rainwater averaged 9.8 points per game with the Dolphins and was also named to the Preseason All-NEC team. His size and versatility should give Manchel another important offensive weapon, particularly against teams that can match up with Mercyhurst’s guards.
There are some question marks beyond those two, though. Mercyhurst has to replace production from a handful of players who are no longer around, and the supporting cast will need to step up if the Lakers want to make another run in the NEC. Transfers Daemar Kelly (Northern Illinois)and Marcus Jackson (Siena) bring experience to the backcourt, while Cameron Johnson and Geoff Sprouse give Manchel additional options. Sophomore forward Chris Leman will also be worth keeping an eye on as Mercyhurst tries to find some consistency in the frontcourt. How quickly all of those pieces come together will go a long way toward determining just how good this team can be.
Manchel is a defensive-minded coach who will likely try to play at a snail’s pace and throw a matchup zone at the Cardinals for most of Wednesday night. His teams are detail oriented, sound fundamentally and don’t beat themselves … but they do not have the talent necessary to keep us from seeing a heavy dose of Isaac Ellis and Bo Zhang Wednesday night.
Notable:
—Louisville is 2-1 all-time in exhibition games against Division-I opponents following last Wednesday’s win at Kansas.
—Louisville’s 39-game winning streak in exhibition play was snapped four years ago with a 57-47 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne. The exhibition loss was U of L’s first ever against a college opponent, and its first overall since Dec. 2, 2000 when Denny Crum’s final Cardinal team fell 87-86 in double overtime to the Global Sports All-Stars. The Cardinals also dropped an exhibition game to Kentucky Wesleyan the next season, and fell to Kansas a year ago.
—Mercyhurst is the preseason pick to finish second in the Northeast Conference.
—Mercyhurst junior guard Jake Lemelman and senior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater were named to the Preseason All-NEC Team.
—Louisville enters its third season under head coach Pat Kelsey who holds a 51-19 record while in The Ville.
—Louisville is No. 11 in the preseason AP poll for a second consecutive year. It’s the first time the Cardinals have started back-to-back seasons ranked since 2016-17 and 2017-18.
—Louisville is 50-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.