BERKELEY, Calif. — No. 16 Louisville beat California 90-70 Tuesday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams as sophomore guard Adrian Wooley led the way with a season-high 21 points.

What You Need To Know

No. 16 Louisville beat California 90-70 in its ACC opener

Sophomore guard Adrian Wooley had a season-high 21 points

The Cardinals broke California’s nine-game win streak

Up next for UofL is a Jan. 2 meeting against Stanford

Senior guard Ryan Conwell made six 3-pointers and had 26 points, and all five Louisville starters scored in double figures. Junior forward/center Sananda Fru added 13 points and 14 rebounds while senior guard Isaac McNeely and sixth-year guard J’Vonne Hadley each scored 11.

“I have a lot of respect for Mark [Madsen],” UofL head coach Pat Kelsey said postgame. “He’s doing great things with his team, [12-1] coming into this game and they’re dangerous. They obviously have some injuries, like we have some injuries. They really challenge you with how dynamic, quick and fast their guards are; it’s hard to keep them out of the paint, both in transition and the half-court. That was a huge emphasis of ours in this game, and I thought for the most part, our guys did a pretty good job of it.”

The Cardinals, who entered Tuesday averaging more than 90 points per game and limiting opponents to approximately 68 per game, notched another lopsided victory in their first trip to Berkeley.

Louisville (11-2, 1-0 ACC) scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed while winning for the fourth time in five games.

Wooley led the way by shooting 9 for 14 from the field with three 3-pointers.

The Cardinals won handily despite being without second-leading scorer Mikel Brown Jr. The freshman guard was held out because of a lower back injury.

Senior forward Chris Bell scored 20 points for California (12-2, 0-1 ACC), which had won nine straight and was going for its second win over a ranked team this season. The Bears knocked off then-No. 18 UCLA Nov. 25. 

“They [California] play very hard and their team takes on the mentality of their coach, and nobody was nastier when they played than Mark [Madsen],” Kelsey added. “A very good rebounding team that crashed the glass and we talked about meeting that challenge, and I thought our guys did a good job. Fortunate to come out and win because last year you look at the ACC teams that came out here, there wasn’t a great winning percentage. So we turn our attention to another really tough one in a couple of days and looking forward to the challenge.” 

The Cardinals led by 21 points in the second half and cruised to the finish. Louisville had a mild scare briefly in the second half when Conwell appeared to suffer a minor head injury. But he returned three minutes later and finished the game with his seventh 20-point game of the season.

Conwell got the Cardinals going early, making five of his first seven shots, including three 3-pointers.

Louisville visits Stanford Friday, Jan. 2. Tipoff is 8 p.m. EST.