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Basketball ***** Postgame Notes: UK 93, UofL 85 *****

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
DEC 14, 2024
ATTENDANCE: 21,093

Final Score: No. 5 Kentucky 93, Louisville 85

Team Records and Series Notes

  • Kentucky is 10-1 and Louisville is 6-5.
  • Kentucky leads the series 40-17 and has won three in a row.
    • UK leads 22-5 in games played in Lexington and has won the last eight meetings in Rupp Arena.
  • Mark Pope is 197-109 as head coach, including 10-1 at Kentucky.
  • Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats have fall semester examinations this week before traveling to New York City for a Saturday matchup with Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. Game time is 5:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.

Team Notes
  • Kentucky is 10-1 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
  • Kentucky tallied 93 points tonight. The Wildcats entered the game leading the nation in scoring at 91.1 points per game.
    • Five Wildcats scored in double figures tonight. It’s the seventh time in 11 games that at least five Cats have hit double digits in scoring.
  • Kentucky shot 58.2 percent from the field, the fifth time this season the Wildcats have shot at least 50 percent.
  • UK shot a season-high 52.4 percent on 3-pointers, making 11 out of a season-low 21 attempts.
  • UK had 23 assists on its 32 made baskets, an assist percentage of 71.9.
    • UK entered the game 11th in the nation in assists with 19.1 per game.
    • Four Wildcats had at least four dishes.
  • UK won fast-break points 24-4.
    • The Wildcats entered the game sixth in the nation in fast-break points with 19.2 per game.
  • Kentucky won the rebounding tonight, 41-31. UK has won or tied the rebounding in all but one game this season.

Player Notes
  • After missing two games because of injury, Lamont Butler made all 10 field-goal attempts – including 6-of-6 on 3-pointers – and poured in a career-high 33 points.
    • It is the most points by a Wildcat this season.
    • It’s the second-most for a Wildcat vs. Louisville, Derrick Miller scored 34 on Dec. 30, 1989.
    • His 10-of-10 shooting tied for the third-best shooting performance in school history.
      • Rodney Dent 12-of-12 vs. Morehead State on Dec. 17, 1993.
      • Kenny Walker 11-of-11 vs. Western Kentucky on March 16, 1986.
      • Justin Edwards 10-of-10 vs. Alabama on Feb. 4, 2024.
    • His 6-of-6 on 3-pointers is the second-best long-range shooting performance in school history. Wenyen Gabriel hit all seven threes he attempted against Alabama on March 10, 2018.
    • His six 3-pointers tied for the most for UK in a game vs. Louisville, also Jeff Brassow on Dec. 29, 1990.
    • In addition to career-high points, he had a career-high six 3-pointers and tied his career-best for field goals made (10).
    • Butler also had a game-high six assists.
    • Since 1996-97, he is the only Division I player to make all of his shots, score at least 33 points and get at least six assists.
  • The steady Otega Oweh was second for the Cats in scoring with 17 points and has scored double figures in every game this season.
  • Jaxson Robinson had 12 points, his fourth straight game in double figures, and tied his career best for rebounds with eight.
  • Andrew Carr had 10 points and led UK with nine rebounds.
  • Koby Brea had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season and this was his ninth game with multiples threes.

In the First Half
  • Kentucky’s starters were Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams. UK has an 8-1 record with this lineup.
  • Brandon Garrison and Koby Brea were the first substitutions at 16:04.
  • Kentucky made its first five field-goal attempts and two free throws in jumping out to a 14-5 lead, coaxing a Louisville timeout at 16:59.
  • Kentucky led by as many as 12 points at 28-16.
  • Louisville edged closer as Kentucky went to halftime ahead 46-40. The Wildcats shot 70 percent from the field, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, as Butler had 12 points and Robinson had 10.

In the Second Half
  • Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
  • Butler made three threes early in the half, and following a Garrison dunk to make it 57-47, Louisville called timeout at the 16:32 mark.
  • At 59-49, the Cardinals scored seven straight points to narrow the count to 59-56.
  • Ahead 64-61, Brea swished a closely guarded 3-pointer, sparking a 7-0 run to make it 71-61.
  • Louisville got as close as five points, 79-74, with 3:17 remaining, but got no closer.
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Basketball ***** Postgame Press Conference Notes - UK vs. UofL *****

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KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:

* Incredibly proud of our guys. Classic rivalry game. Hats off to Louisville, what they're doing short-handed. Pat is doing a great job with them. They should be super-proud, too.

* On Lamont Butler... He just gave us one of the all-time greatest performances in the history of this super-special game. This is a winner. Major credit to our performance team. Brandon Wells one of the best in the business. Those guys kept him in playing condition without him being able to put weight on his feet for a week.

* On the moments when Butler had to get a breather... First half, we turned one over in the backcourt for a layup. That wasn't great. But TP gave us enough of a break for him to get a breather and get back out there.

* On respect between the teams (minus the little dust-up in front of the bench)... Thinks the teams both just focus on how they compete and needing to be laser-focused on the job at hand.

* On Lamont's mere presence opening things up for other guys... They had to really push out on us, so getting downhill to the rim is big for us. It matters a lot.

* On Otega being able to close games out strong... has that mindset, stays in the present. Razzed him a little bit because they've been on him about being at his early morning classes more consistently. He is going a good job of that, even shared a video of him sitting in an empty classroom one day when he didn't realize that class had been cancelled that day.

* Garrison got the nod late in today's game because of the energy and vibe he had.

* Asked when it was that he realized all these parts were going to come together and work... Seeing their skillset in workouts. Still thinks the ceiling is so much higher than what they're showing.

* On what it felt like watching the game as a coach compared to being a player in the rivalry game... Looked up the games he played in last night. Didn't realize he lost as a junior by 2 points. That triggered a memory of the bus ride home from Louisville. It had been blocked from his memory until now. Teary-eyed on the bus, locked in there with Coach P, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Our senior year, we kinda had a runaway win.

*****

LOUISVILLE HC PAT KELSEY Q&A:

* Give Kentucky credit. It was a great atmosphere, great game. Lamont Butler was magnificent. I see him in my nightmares. Made big buckets, tough buckets every time we got momentum. He is a stone-cold killer. Can spend a lot of time talking about him, but UK is just a deep and talented team.

* This is one of the greatest rivalries in American sports. We need to do our part to make sure it stays that way. It was awesome this week leading up to it. Everywhere you went, go to get gas, people are saying beat Kentucky. The pageantry of the rivalry is truly special. I know I'm going to be reminded about 4 million times the next 365 days about when the next one is.

* On how different UK looks with and without Lamont Butler. Your PG is your QB. He's the head of the snake. You have to cut the head of the snake, but that's hard because he's so physical and disciplined. A lot of respect for him. The best PGs, I believe, you give them the ball at 5:15 today, and they give it back to you safe and sound at 7:15.

(Random thought: He kinda reminds me of Bill Burr without the Boston accent. Ha.)

* Butler is a freight train and a bowling ball getting downhill and to the rim, so you have to play that. His 3s seemed to be touched by God today. He made big shots tonight. He was the difference in the game.

* On the dust-up in front of the bench... Just a hustle play. Not a big deal.

*****

UK PLAYERS Q&A:

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Basketball INSTANT ANALYSIS: Kentucky scorches the nets against Louisville

Kentucky shot nearly 70% from the field in the first half. They hit their first several threes. The offensive execution was impressive. They won the glass, they attempted three times as many free throws. And yet Louisville managed to keep it close. The Cards played very hard, attempted more shots, and banged home several contested threes to make it interesting going into the locker room. It was surprising that the game was as close as it was given how well Kentucky shot the ball.

Lamont Butler knocked down open shots. That was a big part of the game. Louisville let him shoot and he made them pay. You don't expect that kind of offensive production from Butler and they needed it tonight. He was able to handle the physicality the Cards threw at UK when they were on defense.

Coming out of the locker room Butler scored 11 of their first 13 points and powered them to a bigger lead.

Thought Pat Kelsey probably did a good job of getting Louisville to play really physical, even if UK still scored well, and the Cards played better than they typically have in the series.

Jay Bilas said Louisville stayed in the game because of great individual plays on offense and that makes sense.

Time and again Kentucky was up by five, seven, nine points and they weren't able to extend it much beyond that. Credit Louisville for battling and being resilient when Kentucky shot so well for much of the game. But Kentucky did what the better team will usually do on its home court.

Post-Game Commentary: Cats vs Birds

* Cats get the win over the Birds in Rupp. Didn’t seem to be much defense in this one, but rivalry games are always difficult they say.

* Cats probably don’t win today without Butler …and it wasn’t so much Butler’s defense as it was his offense … going 10-10 from the field, including 6-6 from 3pt line …and 7-12 from the FT line (Cats have to be better at the FT line) … Carr had 10 & 9, Robinson with 12 & 8, and Oweh with 17. … other than Garrison and Brea, with Kerr out, it’s seems the Cats don’t have anything else on the bench.

* Williams … has got to decide to use that big body and play physical with it, all the time… otherwise we have to play Garrison. If it doesn’t get better, it could cost us in the SEC.

* Cats give up 85 pts to a short-handed, foul-prone Bird team …may be a bit concerning that the Cats struggled to stop one on one play with SEC play coming up and the competition gets a lot better.

* Birds with 15 more shot attempts despite the Cats +10 on the glass. I assume the Cats suspect 18-28 from the FT line helped that in some way, and Cats had 4 more TO’s. Birds +9 from 3pt line (14-39) to the Cats 11-21.

* Did I say Pat Adams is the definition of over-officiating while concurrently missing calls …my goodness they missed a bunch of Bird walks and called a bunch of touch fouls on both teams …

* Up Next: Cats travel to New York next Saturday to take on Ohio State, a team that Auburn just beat by almost 40. … SEC play is coming soon, the Cats are going to have to get better and be prepared for the physicality and athleticism to ramp up a lot …

We have to "Joker" Stoops

It's clear as day that this season is a complete failure. We "pony'd up" and Stoops did not deliver. We have had many OC's and had very few succeed. What's the common denominator?

If Stoops is back next season, sorry, but if we want a change, we have to "Joker" Stoops. Like the Kentucky fans did in the Vandy game. It wasn't even 10k in the stands I think.

Don't go to games, don't renew tickets (if you can).

We all can appreciate what Stoops has done for us. Like Cal, it's his time to move on. I hope we don't have to do any of this because next year Somrall is coach and Stoops leaves on his own accord.

If Mitch won't do it, the fans have to force his hands. Money talks. It's the only thing we have control over. Don't go to games or watch.

If you want change, you can't passively watch, you have to do act. The only way to act is to don't go to games, or watch or fund NIL.

^^^ Official CatsIllustrated Kentucky vs Louisville OOC Prediction Contest ***

Welcome to the Official Kentucky vs Louisville OOC Prediction Contest!

Follow the rules below and make your prediction. I'll publish the results after the game. You can put any comment you would like below your score prediction (put '***' after your prediction to make it easier to separate the comments) but try not to put anything above as my scripts may not be able to find your prediction. This is the 1st of three prediction contests this season: the OOC Contest, the SEC Regular Season contest, and the Postseason Contest.

Whoever predicts the score closest to the actual score wins. I take the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the Kentucky score and the actual plus the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the opponent score and the actual. There is a penalty for picking the wrong winner. That penalty is the worst score among those who predicted the correct winner. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker is used. In case of a tie in the tiebreaker, we have more than one winner.

I will be awarding points for the first 10 places, including a 3 point bonus for a perfect prediction. I will track cumulative point totals and the number of games you make the top 10. This contest ends with the Brown game.

Your post should look something really close to the example below. Remember the ":"s and the word "Tiebreaker:"! Do not!! use a "-" as a separator because some of our tiebreakers will be negative.

This game's tiebreaker is Total Attempted 3 Ptrs.

Kentucky vs Louisville game:

-------------------------
Kentucky: 87
Louisville: 74

Tiebreaker: 62
--------------------------

Just cut and paste everything between the lines above into your reply and then modify the scores and tiebreaker as you see fit. If you don't know how to do that, type very carefully. Remember to type in the word "Tiebreaker:" so that I can find it. Anything my scripts can't figure out will not count.

Don't edit your post or try to post a score after the game has started.

BTW I really would prefer exact names for the teams, but will try to be accommodating as long as it doesn't create too much work for me. If we are playing Louisville, just about anything not obscene will be OK.

--------------------------
OOC Season Basketball Prediction Scores - Kentucky vs Colgate (tiebreaker was 10 Made Ky 3Ptrs):

10 1 . TheBlueCat : 13 points, tiebreaker=11
9 2 . Jazzycat : 15 points, tiebreaker=9
8 3 . YardCat : 16 points, tiebreaker=10
7 4 . Blueworld_3.0 : 16 points, tiebreaker=13
6 5 . Oldbluefart : 17 points, tiebreaker=13
5 6 . GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone: 18 points, tiebreaker=8
4 7 . LogicalCat : 18 points, tiebreaker=13
3 8 . Jperry1987 : 19 points, tiebreaker=11
2 9 . maysvilleky : 20 points, tiebreaker=11
1 10 . Blueisbest : 20 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 11 . tdjohnsky : 20 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 11 . kyfanrob : 20 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 13 . warrior-cat : 20 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 14 . rivercatinfl : 21 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 15 . ukypug : 21 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 16 . ThreeHogNight : 21 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 16 . number8please : 21 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 18 . Wildcat_In_Florida: 21 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 19 . ORCAT : 21 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 20 . *CatinIL* : 21 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 20 . BigBlueFanGA : 21 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 22 . Hargyt13 : 22 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 23 . GoBIG BLUE : 22 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 24 . the nail at the foul line: 23 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 25 . Roe07 : 24 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 26 . TOMCATS1990 : 24 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 27 . cat tat2 : 24 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 28 . The Grand Poohbah : 24 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 29 . AFSTALLION13 : 25 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 30 . UK Cats1 : 25 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 31 . TNCatfanforever : 25 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 32 . jimmy cowboy : 25 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 32 . Mrwildcats03 : 25 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 34 . Chad Rock : 26 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 34 . M4CAT : 26 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 36 . onearmedjesus : 27 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 37 . CBBCrazy : 27 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 37 . pappy52 : 27 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 39 . Creed Bratton : 27 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 40 . UKCatWoman : 28 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 40 . Demarcus Kidd-Miller: 28 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 42 . Short-Dawg-69 : 28 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 43 . Kycatspaws : 28 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 44 . ukfan041 : 28 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 45 . lyngz : 28 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 46 . Rideordiewildcat : 29 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 47 . Hang_Time_2 : 30 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 47 . North Carolina Blue Wildcat: 30 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 49 . docholiday51 : 30 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 50 . truckbrandon : 30 points, tiebreaker=21
.. 51 . Old_Red : 31 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 52 . TexKat : 31 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 53 . Bigblueincincy : 31 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 54 . kybloo92 : 31 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 54 . UK Widget : 31 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 56 . UK67KU59 : 31 points, tiebreaker=18
.. 57 . kywildcatsfannumber1: 32 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 57 . Blue_belly : 32 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 59 . kywildcat41035 : 34 points, tiebreaker=18
.. 60 . howercat : 35 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 61 . yes_takeaside : 36 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 62 . BlobUK : 37 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 62 . nickhorvathsuxazz : 37 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 64 . wfm101981 : 37 points, tiebreaker=50000
.. 65 . blubo : 39 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 66 . kennyskywalker34 : 39 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 67 . Usleepy-2vs7 : 42 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 68 . runt#69 : 48 points, tiebreaker=20
.. 69 . cat888 : 49 points, tiebreaker=16


OOC Season Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

21 : jimmy cowboy
20 : The Grand Poohbah
19 : Hargyt13
18 : Chad Rock
17 : cat888
16 : kybloo92
15 : CBBCrazy
15 : truckbrandon
14 : cat tat2
13 : Blueisbest
13 : Rideordiewildcat
12 : BlobUK
12 : Blueworld_3.0
12 : Jazzycat

11 : Bigblueincincy
11 : Blue_belly
10 : 19jhadams
10 : Jperry1987
10 : kyfanrob
10 : kywildcat41086
10 : LogicalCat
10 : maysvilleky
10 : Oldbluefart

10 : onearmedjesus
10 : ORCAT
10 : Roe07
10 : Short-Dawg-69
10 : TheBlueCat
10 : ThreeHogNight
10 : UK Widget
10 : UKCatWoman
9 : drew_ukfan
9 : TFCats11
9 : the nail at the foul line
8 : blubo
8 : Kycatspaws
8 : runt#69
8 : Smashcat
8 : YardCat
7 : Creed Bratton
7 : number8please
7 : OldEvilleCat
7 : pappy52
7 : wfm101981
5 : coolfred
5 : Demarcus Kidd-Miller
5 : docholiday51
5 : Farsight
5 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
5 : Old_Red
4 : howercat
4 : kennyskywalker34
4 : lyngz
4 : TexKat
4 : TOMCATS1990
3 : mrjuk
3 : TheKentuckyKid
3 : ukfan041
3 : warrior-cat
2 : BC_Wader
2 : JFCats22
2 : JonathanUSAF
2 : yes_takeaside
1 : kywildcatsfannumber1
1 : ukypug
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida


Players Who've Made the Top Ten at Least Once:

4 : cat888
3 : Blueisbest
3 : Blueworld_3.0

3 : cat tat2
3 : Chad Rock
3 : kyfanrob
3 : onearmedjesus
3 : The Grand Poohbah
2 : Bigblueincincy
2 : BlobUK
2 : Blue_belly
2 : CBBCrazy
2 : Hargyt13
2 : Jazzycat
2 : jimmy cowboy
2 : Jperry1987
2 : kybloo92
2 : Kycatspaws
2 : LogicalCat
2 : maysvilleky
2 : Oldbluefart

2 : ORCAT
2 : Rideordiewildcat
2 : Roe07
2 : TOMCATS1990
2 : truckbrandon
2 : wfm101981
1 : 19jhadams
1 : BC_Wader
1 : blubo
1 : coolfred
1 : Creed Bratton
1 : Demarcus Kidd-Miller
1 : docholiday51
1 : drew_ukfan
1 : Farsight
1 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
1 : howercat
1 : JFCats22
1 : JonathanUSAF
1 : kennyskywalker34
1 : kywildcat41086
1 : kywildcatsfannumber1
1 : lyngz
1 : mrjuk
1 : number8please
1 : OldEvilleCat
1 : Old_Red
1 : pappy52
1 : runt#69
1 : Short-Dawg-69
1 : Smashcat
1 : TexKat
1 : TFCats11
1 : the nail at the foul line
1 : TheBlueCat
1 : TheKentuckyKid
1 : ThreeHogNight
1 : UK Widget
1 : UKCatWoman
1 : ukfan041
1 : ukypug
1 : warrior-cat
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida
1 : YardCat
1 : yes_takeaside


Total Players:
Kentucky vs Wright State : 96
Kentucky vs Bucknell : 63
Kentucky vs Duke : 73
Kentucky vs Lipscomb : 61
Kentucky vs Jackson State : 80
Kentucky vs Western Kentucky : 67
Kentucky vs Georgia State : 62
Kentucky @ Clemson : 75
Kentucky @ Gonzaga : 73
Kentucky vs Colgate : 69

Season Average for Players: 71.9


OOC Season Basketball Prediction Champs:
Kentucky vs Wright State : kywildcat41086: 1
Kentucky vs Bucknell : Short-Dawg-69: 2
Kentucky vs Duke : 19jhadams: 2
Kentucky vs Lipscomb : UKCatWoman: 1
Kentucky vs Jackson State : Rideordiewildcat: 1
Kentucky vs Jackson State : UK Widget: 1
Kentucky vs Western Kentucky : jimmy cowboy: 0
Kentucky vs Georgia State : cat888: 4
Kentucky @ Clemson : ThreeHogNight: 19
Kentucky @ Gonzaga : Hargyt13: 2
Kentucky vs Colgate : TheBlueCat: 13


@Deeeefense

Scouting Louisville

Louisville Cardinals
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Head Coach: Pat Kelsey overall (267-126)
Winthrop Eagles (189-95) (Big South)
Charleston Cougars (75-27) (Coastal Athletic)
1st Year at Louisville (6-4)

Schedule/Results (6-4)
11/4 vs MOREHEAD St W, 93-45
11/9 vs 12 TENNESSEE L, 77-55
11/19 vs BELLARMINE W, 100-68
11/22 vs WINTHROP W, 76-61
11/27 vs 14 Indiana (neutral) W, 89-61
11/28 vs West Virginia (neutral) W, 79-70
11/29 vs Oklahoma (neutral) L, 69-64
12/3 vs 23 OLE MISS L, 86-63
12/8 vs 9 DUKE L, 76-65
12/11 vs UTEP W, 77-74
12/14 @ 5 Kentucky: Rupp Arena (20,500)

Game Info: December 14 in Lexington, KY
Game time: 5:15pm EST
TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman & Jay Bilas)
Spectrum Cable: Channel 28 DISH Network: Channel 140
DirecTV: Channel 206 U-verse: Channel 1602
Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach & Jack Givens)
Radio Over the air: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Satellite radio: XM Channel 190, Internet Channel 960
Louisville broadcast: XM Channel 371

Probable Starters
#24 G Chucky Hepburn 6-2 190 Sr 14.1pts, 3.3reb, 4.8ast, 3.2stl, 32.6% 3fg
#6 G Reyne Smith 6-2 190 Sr 12.1pts, 3.1reb, 37.1% 3fg
#1 G J’Vonne Hadley 6-6 215 5th Yr Sr 9.8pts, 8.0reb, 1.8ast, 25.0% 3fg
#0 F James Scott 6-11 220 So 7.0pts, 5.8reb, 1.1ast, 0.0% 3fg
#93 F Noah Waterman 6-11 230 6th Ye Sr 6.2pts, 4.1reb, 1.0blk, 22.0% 3fg

Key Reserves
#5 G Terrence Edwards Jr. 6-6 205 5th Yr Sr 12.9pts, 3.2reb, 2.1ast, 26.1% 3fg
#9 F Khani Rooths 6-8 205 Fr 4.1pts, 3.3reb, 18.2% 3fg
#13 C Frank Anselem-Ibe 6-10 220 5th Yr Sr 0.3pts, 1.0reb, 0.0% 3fg
OUT #7 F Kasean Pryor 6-10 225 5th Yr Sr 12.0pts, 6.1reb, 2.1ast, 1.6stl, 15.2% 3fg

Team Statistics
Points per game 76.0
Points allowed 68.1
Scoring margin +7.9
Field goal pct .428
FG% allowed .422
3-point FG pct .282
3FG% allowed .329
Free throw pct .707
Rebounds per game 38.7
Rebounds allowed 34.7
Rebounding margin +4.0
Assists per game 13.6
Turnovers per game 13.3
Turnovers forced 15.6
Turnover margin +2.2
Assist/turnover ratio 1.0
Steals per game 8.0
Blocks per game 3.4

KenPom Analysis
Overall rating: #59
Offense: #79
Defense: #42
Best Numbers
Off 2pt%: #13
Def Non-Steal TO%: #24
Off Rebounding %: #35
Worst Numbers
Off 3pt%: #341 (27%)
Off Turnover%: #224
Def 3pt%: #213 (33.9%)
Off Effective FG%: #205

Analysis: Well, for many the biggest game of the year is here. It’s Kentucky. It’s Louisville. It’s ESPN. It’s Shulman and Bilas (and Rupp Arena soft serve ice cream will get a cameo). The state of Kentucky’s 2 most historic teams and 2 of the greatest programs in men’s college basketball. UK comes in sporting a #5 ranking in the latest AP poll, with a 9-1 overall record, with huge neutral site wins over Duke and Gonzaga. Louisville comes in with a 6-4 record with big neutral site wins over Indiana and West Virginia but 20+ point losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss, an 11pt loss to Duke and a close loss to Oklahoma on a neutral court. I didn’t realize it before I started preparing this, but this will be this Louisville team’s first true road game of the season.

Both teams have an injury or two that are significant. As we know, the Cats are definitely missing PG Kerr Kriisa for this game and could potentially be missing Lamont Butler if he’s not quite healed from his ankle injury. We’re all hoping he will be back for this game. Meanwhile, Louisville has lost starting forward Kasean Pryor a 6-10 225 5th Year Senior who was averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals to a season-ending ACL injury. They are also missing Aboubacar Traore (broken arm) and Koren Johnson (shoulder). Traore was a starter to begin the season, though Johnson was not quite as important to the team. The Cardinals only played a total of 8 players in their last game versus UTEP, which they won 77-74, and big man Anselem-Ibe only played 5 minutes. So, it’s basically a 7-man rotation.

Those hoping for an absolute slaughter of Louisville in Rupp on Saturday afternoon may be disappointed, though we’re all hoping for domination. Even without these injured players, the Cardinals have been competitive against most everyone, Tennessee and Ole Miss not withstanding. Even against Duke, and without the players I’ve mentioned here, they still were competitive. In fact, they had a lead until about the 8-minute mark in that game when Duke finally began to assert itself and pushed a lead to double-digits and held a comfortable lead to the end.

Looking at Louisville, one thing that jumps out is that play hard on defensive every time down the floor and on offense they will shoot threes all day. They are actually accomplishing what Mark Pope wants UK to do. They’re averaging 30 threes a game. (31.8 to be exact). Problem is, they’re making less than 9 threes a game and shooting 27%. That makes them a very inefficient team. But the problem is, if those threes are falling, they are a threat.

Looking at personnel, the top scorer on the team is their point guard #24 Chucky Hepburn, a 6-2 190lb Senior averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.2 steals, and shooting 33.3% from 3. He is leading the team in point, assists, and steals. He does a little bit of everything for the team. His backcourt mate is #6 shooting guard Reyne Smith, a 6-2 190lb Senior averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shooting 37.1% from 3. He has shot 81 threes on the season, which is nearly double the number of attempts of anyone else on the team. The small forward is #1 J’Vonne Hadley a 6-6 215lb 5th Year Senior averaging 9.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and shoots 25.0% from 3. Down low, the Cards have a pair of 6-11 forwards starting. #0 James Scott is a 6-11 220lb Sophomore averaging 7.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and doesn’t shoot threes. The other starter was a player for Mark Pope last season at BYU. It’s #93 Noah Waterman a 6-11 230lb 6th Year Senior averaging 6.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 block, and shooting 22.0% from 3.

From the bench, the top scorer is #5 Guard Terrence Edwards Jr. a 6-6 205lb 5th Year Senior averaging 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and shooting 26.1% from 3. Honestly, Edwards is averaging more minutes than all but 2 of the starters, so we’ll be seeing quite a bit of him. He’s pretty much subs in for both the 2 and the 3, which is why he’s out there a lot. The other 2 bench guys are big men: #9 F Khani Rooths a 6-8 205lb Freshman averaging 4.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and shooting 18.2% from 3 and #13 Frank Anselem-Ibe a 6-10 220lb 5th Year Senior who isn’t playing or contributing much.

I fully expect Louisville to be playing this game like their hair is on fire. As we heard from Terrence Edwards this week, this is their biggest game of the season and if Louisville fans had to pick one win for the season, this is it. He even said playing against UK is the only reason he signed with UL. They will be giving maximum effort all night. If we had our entire team, I’d say just run those 10 guys out there and wear these guys out, but if we’re missing Lamont Butler, I don’t think that would be an advisable strategy. UK has a bunch of better shooters than Louisville has, but that won’t stop the Cards from firing up 30+ from downtown. If those threes are falling at any decent percentage, it could be a tough game. If UK’s threes are falling like we know they can, it could become a dominant win for UK. What will happen? Haslametrics predicts UK 84 UL 70. EvanMiya projects UK 83 UL 70. Bart Torvik says UK 84- UL 73. KenPom predicts UK 83-UL 72. DRatings has UK winning 87-79.

My prediction: Kentucky 90 UofL 80

Took the Coach 11 game to find a QB

Cutter Boley, playing in front of 100,000 fans was so much more comfortable than Brock Vandagriff, and seemed like he understood the offense better. Hamdan seemed to call a completely different game while Cutter was at QB. Looked like he may have been more comfortable with Cutter at QB . I haved feeling Stoops was to loyal to Brock and it has cost the team in preformance from the most important position. Very odd, IMO, that a true freshman seems so much more comfortable than a upper classmen.
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