LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One year after Terrence Edwards and Chucky Hepburn played against each other in the NCAA Tournament, they are experiencing March Madness again as teammates at an entirely different school.
This is college basketball in the era of the transfer portal.
Edwards scored a team-high 14 points last year to help a 12th-seeded James Madison team upset Hepburn and fifth-seeded Wisconsin 72-61 in the first round. Both players left their respective schools in the offseason for Louisville, where first-year coach Pat Kelsey was overhauling the roster after a dreadful season in which they went 8-24.
They are now the two leading scorers for a Louisville team that earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The Cardinals (27-7) face Creighton (24-10) on Thursday in Lexington.
Edwards, a 6-foot-6 swingman, was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year at James Madison last season. He followed up his 14-point performance against Wisconsin by scoring 13 points in a second-round loss to Duke. He has averaged 16.6 points, 4.1 rebound and 2.6 assists for Louisville this season.
Hepburn, a three-year starter at Wisconsin, was an Associated Press all-ACC first-team selection this season. The 6-foot-2 senior guard has 16.2 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Edwards and Hepburn will try to carry over what they learned from their previous March Madness experiences at their former schools. Edwards said the stakes involved lead to more physical play.
“You’ve got seniors out there like me that’s going to leave it all on the line, both ways — our team, their team,” Edwards said. “Guys don’t want their college career to end because it’s so fun playing in an atmosphere like this. Everyone is going to leave it on the line, and anything can happen in March.”
The Cardinals received the No. 8 seed in the South Regional and will face No. 9 Creighton Thursday, March 20 at 12:15 p.m. at Rupp Arena. It will be the first game in the Round of 64.
Here are some other top names in this year's NCAA Tournament who competed last year for different schools.
JaKobe Coles, F, Grand Canyon (TCU)
Opening game: Friday vs. Maryland in Seattle
Vladislav Goldin, C, Michigan (Florida Atlantic)
Opening game: Thursday vs. UC San Diego in Denver
Tyrese Hunter, G, Memphis (Texas)
Opening game: Friday vs. Colorado State in Seattle
Zeke Mayo, G, Kansas (South Dakota State)
Opening game: Thursday vs. Arkansas in Providence, Rhode Island
Mark Mitchell, G/F, Missouri (Duke)
Opening game: Thursday vs. Drake at Wichita, Kansas
JT Toppin, F, Texas Tech (New Mexico)
Opening game: Thursday vs. UNC Wilmington at Wichita, Kansas
