The Louisville-Kentucky rivalry has deep roots, dating back to long before 1983, the year the two school’s basketball teams first played. Kentucky’s fans have always thought of themselves as a superior to Louisville, and Louisville fans have had an underdog, blue-collar mentality.
This proved to be true last Saturday as #1 Kentucky took on #4 Louisville in a battle of unbeatens. Although both teams were undefeated, Kentucky was the unquestioned favorite. The Wildcats have embarrassed almost everyone they have played this year, but that was not the case against Louisville. A close, tough game brought a 58-50 win to Kentucky. In turn, lets look at some takeaways from Saturday’s heated contest.
1. Tyler Ulis is making a push to be the starting point guard
Kentucky coach John Calipari can deny a point guard controversy all he wants, but he has to be considering freshman Tyler Ulis as a viable candidate. Ulis had 14 points, 12 in the 2nd half, but more importantly, had zero turnovers. Starting point guard Andrew Harrison had six turnovers, and shot 1-6 from the field, ending with just three points. Not only did Ulis play better, but he was steadier, an element the Wildcats needed Saturday. Bringing Andrew off the bench could derail his confidence, and him and twin brother Aaron play really well together. But for this team to reach its max potential, I believe they need Ulis to be the starter.
2. Depth is a serious issue for Louisville
It almost felt like we were watching a slow death on Saturday as Kentucky kept hitting the refresh button with reinforcements and Louisville kept it soldiers in the battlefield. Montrezl Harrell played all 40 minutes, and guards Terry Rozier and Chris Jones played 37 minutes apiece. The Cardinal bench had three points (Kentucky’s had 27) and 31 minutes played between three players, with one of those players only playing one minute. This is a bad formula against not only Kentucky, but also Louisville. Rick Pitino’s squad plays a hectic defense, and it would serve them well if they had some bench options.
3. Louisville probably should have won this game
It was brick city in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, and especially for the Cardinals. The game was 22-18, a Kentucky lead, at halftime with many opportunities for Louisville to get a lead on the Wildcats. They ended up shooting just 26% from the field, and only made three three-pointers. Kentucky picked up their scoring in the 2nd half, and that proved to be the difference. If Louisville makes just a few more buckets, then who knows, maybe we are all talking about a different story line today.
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