Cats Face Cards in Top-10 Showdown
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It’s just one game.
But it’s the Kentucky-Louisville game.
The game is being played Dec. 21. The league portion of the schedule hasn’t even begun.
But it’s a huge opportunity for a major résumé-boosting victory.
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| Kentucky at Louisville | ||
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Wed., Dec. 21 – 7 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | 2016-17 Team Stats | UL |
| 10-1 | Record | 10-1 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 95.2 | PPG | 78.5 |
| 71.6 | Opp PPG | 59.4 |
| .490 | FG% | .434 |
| .398 | Opp FG% | .359 |
| 43.3 | RPG | 45.0 |
| .342 | 3PT FG% | .329 |
| .286 | Opp 3PT FG% | .287 |
| .686 | FT% | .689 |
| 19.9 | APG | 14.9 |
| 7.1 | SPG | 7.5 |
| 7.1 | BPG | 7.2 |
When Wednesday night’s game arrives between No. 6/5 Kentucky and No. 10/11 Louisville, keeping everything in perspective, and weighing the rivalry against the fact that it’s just one game, can be a difficult task.
Welcome to the Cats versus the Cards.
“I’m happy when it’s over,” UK head coach John Calipari said Tuesday. “Just get it done, because everybody makes it life or death and it’s not life or death. It’s worse than that. And I imagine Rick (Pitino’s) the same way. Just play the game, let’s see what happens and let’s go. We’ve got our league to deal with, he’s got his league to deal with, let’s just move on.”
On the one hand, it is just one game. When approaching a game as significant to both fan bases as Wednesday’s is, it’s important to simplify the circumstances in order to stay in a routine and thus be more comfortable getting prepared for the game and competing in the game.
“As a team we’re just looking at them as another team,” said senior guard Dominique Hawkins, a Richmond, Kentucky, native who grew up watching the rivalry and rooting on the Wildcats. “We’re going game by game, so that’s why we’re taking it one game at a time.”
From an efficiency standpoint, Louisville (10-1) has the top-rated defense in the country. The Cardinals have held four different opponents to 20 points or less in a half this season, including Purdue, the No. 15 team in the nation.
After losing to UCLA and winning a 103-100 shootout with North Carolina, Louisville presents a different challenge for Kentucky (10-1). How will the up-and-down, high-flying Wildcats do against a tough, physical Louisville team that is allowing less than 60 points per game and likes to grind it out?
“What this game is to us, December 21st, where are we on December 21st?” Calipari asked rhetorically. “Playing a top-10 team on the road, on their court, where are we? When the game ends, we’re leaving for Christmas. Are we mature enough to deal with that? Where are we right now? That’s what this is. Love to win it, but let’s really learn about where are we right now. And we know how good they are.”
Kentucky enters the 50th meeting between these two storied programs with a 34-15 edge all time, including an 8-1 advantage during the Calipari era. It’s a statistic beloved by Wildcat fans, but poo-pooed by their head coach.
“I don’t think any of the past games have any bearing on this game,” Calipari said. “When I’m coaching against a guy that has won some games against me, I’m not worried about the past. I’m just saying, ‘How do we win this game?’ I would say he’s thinking the same way.”
Of the nine meetings between the two schools, only one – a UK win during the 2010-11 season at Louisville – has been by more than nine points. The close games and physicality in those games has only added to the rivalry aspect, which of course makes the “just another game” argument that much more difficult.
“I mean, look we’re 90 miles away from each other in competitive rival schools. It’s hard to send each other Christmas cards,” Calipari said when asked about his relationship with Pitino. “I mean it’s just — It is what it is. I’ve known him for 25 years. I know how good a coach he is. He’s a great coach. He’s a hall of famer. He’s won at everywhere he’s been, national championships, Final Fours. Come on, you know how good he is. We’re in the same state, 90 miles, trying to carve out our own thing.”
It’s only one game, sure, but when UK and Louisville get together a physical, hard-fought matchup typically follows. One player who fits that description well but who didn’t play in last year’s game is sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe. The physical, bulldog of a guard rolled his ankle during pregame warmups a year ago and was unable to go.
“I wanted to know if he had the Louisville flu or if he did really turn his ankle,” Calipari said, “but he is a tough – this is his kind of game.”
Briscoe’s absence opened the door for Hawkins, a Kentucky native who knows the rivalry well. The 6-foot guard had the best game of his career last season against the Cardinals in Rupp Arena. The Richmond native hit a career-high three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 13 points.
It was a breakout performance for the defensive dynamo who had been battling injures and played double-digit minutes just two times earlier in the season before logging 26 minutes against the Cardinals.
“(He) probably has a little edge that my other guys don’t, being from the state,” Calipari said of Hawkins. “That game, probably, being here and being a Kentucky fan his whole life, I would imagine he’s probably not a Louisville fan, then. You’re not both.”
Perspective is crucial and controlling emotions will be key. For many, the rivalry between these two schools will be their first taste of it. The attitude will be to take the court and play the game as if it’s any other game on the schedule. Whether the players are able to do that or not will have a large say in the final outcome.
“But look, our schedule, we still have Kansas coming up. So, these kind of teams, I’m glad I pushed all these games back,” Calipari said. “UCLA, they were better than us. We weren’t ready for that game. Now let’s see if we’re ready for this game. Don’t know until we get in the ring.”
Monk’s Record Scoring Night the Difference in Classic Win vs. UNC
For all the classic games the Kentucky-North Carolina series has featured, Saturday’s in Las Vegas was right up there with the best of them thanks to a record-setting scoring day from Malik Monk.
The UK freshman guard scored 47 points — including the game-winning 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go — to lead the Wildcats to a thrilling 103-100 victory in the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena. Monk set all sorts of milestones with the offensive display, most notably crushing the previous UK freshman scoring record of 35 points, set by Terrence Jones (Jan. 11, 2011) and later tied by Jamal Murray (Feb. 6, 2016). Monk tied the program’s all-time leading scorer, Dan Issel, for the sixth-most points ever by a Wildcat in a single game, and scored the most points by a Wildcat since Jodie Meeks recorded the single-game record of 54 points at Tennessee on Jan. 18, 2009.
On a day when both teams were at their near offensive peak — both teams shot better than 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range — Monk was just better than everyone else.
The Lepanto, Arkansas, native was 18 of 22 from the floor, including 8 of 12 from 3-point range. His 18 3-point field goals were the most in a game for a UK player since Melvin Turpin made 18 on March 8, 1984.
Monk’s final field goal, a 3-pointer from the left wing, was the dagger. Trailing 100-98 with 47 seconds left after a UNC layup, Monk got the ball on the left wing. With his head coach, John Calipari, imploring him to drive it, Monk hesitated for a second and then thought otherwise, pulling up from deep to put the Wildcats ahead for good.
UNC’s Isaiah Hicks tried to steal victory away from the Cats but missed a shot with six seconds left. De’Aaron Fox — who was overshadowed by Monk but nevertheless good with a career-high 24 points and 10 assists — made two free throws to put the Cats ahead by three. Kenny Williams missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to seal it for the Wildcats.
It was Kentucky’s fourth victory in the last five games vs. North Carolina and its second win over a ranked team this season.
There were plenty of notables in this one:
• Monk’s 47 points are the most ever by a John Calipari-coached player in college. They are also the most in a single game by a Southeastern Conference freshman since Chris Jackson of LSU scored 55 points vs. Ole MIss on March 4, 1989, as well as the second- most points by a freshman in Division I college basketball since at least the 1996-97 season
• The 47 points tied the second most ever scored against North Carolina. It’s the most since Rick Yuknus (Georgia Tech) scored 47 on Feb. 14, 1970. The record is 48 by Dick Groat on Feb. 29, 1952
• Tied for the sixth-most points in a game in school history, the 47 points are the second most ever by a Kentucky player against a nonconference opponent. Cliff Hagan scored 51 points vs. Temple on Dec. 5, 1953
• It was the first time UK has allowed 100 points in a game since losing to VMI 111-103 on Nov. 14, 2008. It was the first time Kentucky won a game in which it allowed 100 or more points since defeating Alabama 101-100 on March 1, 1979
• It was just the second time in UNC history and the first time in a regulation-length game that UNC lost a game in which it scored 100 points
• The Wildcats outrebounded the nation’s No. 1 rebounding team (in terms of rebounding margin) 39-35. It was the first time in UNC’s first 12 games it had been outrebounded
• The game was the most watched college basketball game of the season across any network, according to CBS. It drew a 2.4 household rating with a 5 share. In other words, 2.4 of all households with a TV set watched the game, while 5 percent of those watching TV at the time tuned in for the game
• Monk scored 27 first-half points, tying Jamal Murray (vs. Ohio State last season) for the most points in a half in the Calipari era
• The Wildcats scored 103 points, the most Kentucky has ever scored vs. the Tar Heels in a win
• UK shot 54.1 percent from the field, marking the seventh time in 11 games the Cats have made more than half their shots
• Kentucky topped the 100-point plateau for the fourth time this season. It ties the most 100-point games in the Calipari era as the 2009-10 team also achieved the feat
• The lead changed hands six times, tied for the most in a game this season for UK. Kentucky led for 32:41 while UNC led for 3:43
• Freshman forward Bam Adebayo added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds
• Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe logged 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists
The Best Rivalry in College Basketball
With all due respect to all other rivalries, fans of Kentucky and Louisville will tell you the UK-U of L game is the best rivarly in all of sports. Given their tradition, they would have an argument.
Combined they’ve won 11 national championships and been to 27 Final Fours, including a combined six since 2011. Countless All-Americans have put on uniforms for the two schools.
Kentucky leads the all-time series 34-15, including an 8-1 mark since John Calipari took over the Wildcat program for the 2009-10 season. Two of those victories have come when the stakes are at their highest in the NCAA Tournament. The first was in the 2012 Final Four in which Kentucky went on to win the national title. The second was in 2014 in the Sweet 16, as the Wildcats went on to the Final Four again.
Only one time in those nine games since Calipari took over has the game been decided by more than 10 points (the 78-63 decision during the 2010-11 regular season).
Kentucky enters the contest as one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country (more on that in the remainder of the notes), but Louisville counters with a stout defense. The Cardinals rank fourth in blocked shots per game, fifth in field-goal percentage defense and 12th in scoring defense. Kenpom.com tabs Louisville with the best adjusted defensive efficiency.
The Cardinals can also hold their own offensively, especially when it comes to second-chance opportunities, as U of L ranks third in the nation in offensive rebounds per game.
