One of College Basketball’s top rivalry games is upon us. Yes, you have Duke-North Carolina but the hatred between the Kentucky-Louisville fanbases is unmatched.
This rivalry has taken a spot on the back-burner over the last couple of seasons due to the Louisville program taking a step back while under the command of Kenny Payne, however, the anticipation around this rivalry game is back and thriving.
Pat Kelsey has the Cardinals in a really good spot since taking the head coaching job and this will be the first top-25 matchup for the in-state rivals since 2019. Both teams are ranked well within the top-15 across the country and are generating some buzz in the college basketball world nationally, with Kentucky ranked 9th and Louisville ranked 12th.
There has also been some off-the-court buzz from both programs in the week leading up to this matchup.
Louisville’s Kasean Pryor was asked about his thoughts on the rivalry after their 106-70 victory over Jackson State on Thursday, in which all he had to say was, “See you guys on Tuesday… After a win… F*** em.”
I personally don’t mind the comments as it shows me that this rivalry is healthy once again, because outside of last year it died down a bunch when Kentucky just dominated the Cardinals under their last helm.
This will be the first true test for both teams this season as Kentucky comes in 2-0 with wins over unranked Nicholls and Valparaiso while Louisville is also 2-0 with wins over unranked South Carolina State and Jackson State.
A few things Kentucky will have to cleanup to come out with a win tonight is their three point shooting, defense, and free-throw shooting. The Wildcats struggled in their first game against Nicholls behind the three point line, with some improvement on that against Valparaiso. Their just from 7/27 overall to 11/28 was slight improvement. Their free-throw shooting improved big time, going from 12/22 to 22/26.
Louisville loves to shoot the outside shot, so Kentucky will have to respect that and be able to play sound perimeter defense against the Cardinals. They’ve made 22 threes in two games while shooting 52.7% from the field, so the point could be match for match.
One thing that comes to mind as well, although this isn’t a huge concern of mine, is that I expect this game to be extremely physical. So, when Kentucky gets an opportunity to get points from the free-throw line they must take advantage of it. Those consistently throughout the game will add up for any other missed shots during the game.
A few players that Kentucky will have to be ready for include Khani Rooths (6’10” forward), Mikel Brown Jr. (6’5″ freshman guard), and Ryan Conwell (6’4″ senior guard). These three players for the Cardinals are averaging 48 points a game among themselves alone. In an intense back-to-the-wall rivalry game, you’d have to think they’re going to revert to their instincts and try to use these three to carry the bulk of the weight.
For Kentucky, three players that are crucial for the Wildcats to come away with a win include Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh transfer point guard), Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama transfer forward), and preseason NPOTY candidate in Otega Oweh. I choose these three because Lowe has averaged 20 points and 5 assists in his two matchups against Louisville last season (at Pitt), Mouhamed Dioubate’s physicality will play a crucial role in attempting to contain both Hadley and Rooths for Louisville, and then Otega Oweh will bring veteran returning presence of calm strength that will get you double-digits points in any game you place him in.
The matchup against the Wildcats and the Cardinals tips off at 8:00 PM ET tonight on ESPN. The game is being played in Louisville, Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center. Even though ESPN only gives Kentucky a 23% chance of winning this game, I see this game being more of a coin flip. The betting line right now is in favor of the Cards as the spread is -3.5 points in their direction.
One thing to remember is that this has really been a lop-sided rivalry over the past 15 years or so, as Kentucky has only lost to Louisville 3 times since 2009. Kentucky has also won six out of the last seven matchups and three straight.
Honestly, if Kentucky comes out and takes care of business and shoots the ball like they did Friday night then I think they will be perfectly fine and coming back East on I64 this evening with the win.
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