Louisville basketball traveled to Indianapolis, where the Cardinals secured their second win over an AP top 25 team and their eighth win of the season. The Cards improved to 8-1 thanks to a red-hot start, jumping out to a 16-0 lead over Indiana. From the tip-off, the Cardinals were the aggressors in this game and made a huge statement in this bounce-back victory.
While Ryan Conwell led Louisville with 21 points, it was a team effort on both ends of the floor. J'Vonne Hadley and Isaac McKneely added 15 points each, while Sananda Fru and Mikel Brown Jr. added 21 points combined. The starting lineup did its job, scoring 72 of Louisville's 87 points, but the bench played a huge role, especially Cardinals backup point guard Kobe Rodgers.
Related: Ex-Louisville basketball star just put the nation on notice about Kelsey's X-factor
Kobe Rodgers must be Cardinals X-factor off the bench
The Charleston transfer numbers really don't tell the story of his impact on the season so far. Rodgers is averaging 5.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting an impressive 61.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Kelsey spoke after the Cards' win on Saturday, and he said he wasn't pleased with Rodgers in the Arkansas game, but made it clear the Cardinals' X-factor was efficient on both ends of the floor and is a huge spark for this team.
"I was disappointed in him the other day," Kelsey stated about Rodgers. "His job is to come in and raise the level of play. Raise the intensity. Be an elite defender for the minutes you are out there, whether it is two, whether it is 12, whether it is 15. Whatever it is. He took that personally, and I thought he gave us a big boost."
Rodgers and Kelsey, of course, have a long history, as the 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard transferred to Louisville with Kelsey once he took over as Louisville's head coach last season. And after missing last year with a knee injury from the 2023-24 season, Louisville fans were excited to see him provide that boost Kelsey was talking about.
He is emerging as one of the fans' favorite players, as he doesn't just provide depth and give Brown a breather, he comes on the floor and continues to put pressure on the opponents. He is an aggressive defender who pesters the opponent's ball handler, and on offense, he pushes the ball up the floor and isn't afraid to attack.
Rodgers has stepped up massively so far in this season and is exactly what this team needed. Last year, Louisville relied heavily on Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. to handle the ball, but with Rodgers healthy, he has been a huge sparkplug off the bench. He finished last night's game with 12 points in 12 minutes, while shooting 4-of-4 from the field, 2-of-2 from downtown, and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. He also added two rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
Louisville has eyes on the ACC Title and NCAA Title, and if they want to cut some nets down, it is clear that Rodgers has to be that boost of the bench, and last night he was exactly that.