Update: Louisville starting guard Isaac McKneely returned later in the first half after suffering an errant elbow from a teammate that required four staples in his head, per Taylor Tannebaum on ESPN. McKneely left with 16:22 remaining in the first half and returned with 7:59 left. Louisville is already playing without starting guard Mikel Brown.
Louisville is without two of its four starting guards after Isaac McKneely went to the locker room in the first half of its ACC Tournament quarterfinal against Miami after he was elbowed by a teammate. McKneely was bleeding on his head. ESPN speculated on the possibility of McKneely potentially having a concussion on the game broadcast.
Louisville was already playing without second leading scorer, Mikel Brown Jr., who will miss the entire ACC Tournament with a back injury. Brown averages 18.2 points per game, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. McKneely is averaging 10.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.4 APG while shooting 38.6 on three-point attempts.
McKneely scored 15 points on 6-11 from the field with four rebounds and five assists as Louisville beat Miami 92-89 in the final game of the regular season on Saturday. After three seasons at Virginia, McKneely is the fourth leading scorer for Louisville in 2025-26.
McKneely walks into the locker room holding a gash on the top of his head. https://t.co/fZODzx9Uw7
— William McDermott (@804derm) March 12, 2026
McKneely's numbers are down after he averaged 13.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 2.2 APG in 33.4 minutes per game for Virginia in the past two seasons. McKneely is averaging 28.7 MPG for Louisville this season. In ACC games in 2025-26, McKneely is averaging 10.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.4 APG while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 37.9 percent on threes.
Game status when McKneely got hurt
Miami was winning 6-4 when McKneely was injured. The Hurricanes extended the lead to 13-10 before the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run to surge ahead 20-13. Louisville initially went big when McKneely went out and that sparked the 10- run. Miami answered with its own 11-3 run to take a 24-23 lead.
Miami is not exceptionally deep at guard. Dante Allen and Tre Donaldson continued to be the starting guards for Miami. Noam Dovrat and Tru Washington came off the bench for Miami at guard in the first half. Jai Lucas and his staff could adjust their game plan if McKneely is out for the remainder of the game.