The Battle of the Bluegrass has come to a close as the basketball team gets things done, again, in this annual matchup watched from every section of the state. Rupp Arena would sellout on Saturday to host the in-state rival in hopes of finding their tenth win of the season.

Things were a lot of fun from the very start as Kentucky would make 11 of their first 14 attempts, racking up 28 points and going 4/4 from the three-point line, setting the tone immediately on their home floor.

Lamont Butler would play and get the start for his first Kentucky-Louisville dosage, battling the ankle injury that sidelined him in the previous two games. Not only this, he would go on to take over the game and putting on a show for Big Blue Nation, finishing with 33 points on 10/10 shooting (6/6 three-pointer).

The halftime score would sit at 46-40, in the favor of the blue.

The second half would be no different as the Wildcats maintained the lead, only trailing for a total of 10 seconds the entire game. Otega Oweh would also fill in the stat line, finishing with 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a board.

As a team, Kentucky shot 58.2% from the field and 52.4% from the arc, riding the hot hand into Mark Pope’s first coaching win of this rivalry. Top-five ranked Kentucky would improve to a season record of 10-1, pushing the Cardinals to their fifth loss of the year.

The official score would come to a 93-85 mark, earning the Wildcats their 14th win in the last 17 matchups versus the Cardinals. Here are the final stats from the win.

Kerr Kriisa was sidelined as expected, spotted on the bench wearing a medical boot and fresh off of foot surgery. He won’t be back for an estimated 6 weeks, per the school.

Up next for Kentucky is their matchup in New York City versus Ohio State, coming next Saturday (12/21) afternoon. The Cats Coverage crew will be on site in Madison Square Garden so make sure you follow us to see all the content surfacing from the Big Apple city.

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