Five things you need to know from No. 9 Kentucky’s 95-76 win over Louisville
Five things you need to know from No. 9 Kentucky’s 95-76 win over the Louisville Cardinals in men’s college basketball at the KFC Yum Center:
1. Big Blue takeover in the stands? When Reed Sheppard converted a conventional three-point play with 8:41 left in the first half to supply the 11th, 12th and 13th points in what became a 15-1 Kentucky run that broke open a tight game, the chant “Go Big Blue!” rang emphatically throughout the KFC Yum Center.
As was expected given the currently discouraged mindset of the Louisville fan base, “blue got in” and did so in a big way Thursday night.
Yet, as strange as this sounds, there were actually more U of L backers in the stands at the Yum Center than I expected.
To my eye, it looked like Cardinals red was the majority in the lower arena.
From the robust “Go Big Blue!” chants that emanated from the upper arena, the Big Blue Nation seemed in command up there.
To the chagrin of Louisville backers, there is always a noticeable amount of blue in the stands when the Cats and Cards play in The Ville.
In the Kentucky-Louisville games I’ve witnessed in person, however, the visiting team has never had a crowd presence like UK had Thursday night.
Still, given that U of L is in the midst of a 9-35 start to the Kenny Payne coaching era, I thought Cardinals backers made a respectable showing for the UK game.
2. “The Antonio Reeves Game.” Several players have stamped their personal mark on the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry with individual brilliance — think Rex Chapman (1985-86), Samaki Walker (1994-95) and Anthony Davis (2011-12 Final Four) to name three.
Now, Antonio Reeves has done the same.
In a scintillating first half of shot-making, the UK super-senior buried 9 of 10 shots, 3 of 3 treys and went into the locker room at halftime with 22 points. In a first half when Kentucky’s freshmen were, mostly, struggling, Reeves kept the UK ship afloat.
Reeves cooled off in half two, making 1 of 6 shots. Still, the Chicago product finished with a season-high 30 points.
His career-high remains the 37 points he scored last season in UK’s 88-79 win at Arkansas
3. Wildcats win first true road game. Kentucky won its first true road game of the 2023-24 season. In doing so, the Wildcats snapped a three-year losing streak in such games. In the 15 seasons of the John Calipari coaching era, UK is now 6-9 in its first contest on an opponent’s home court.
While having an enthusiastic pro-Kentucky cheering section in the KFC Yum Center no doubt helped, UK’s veteran moxie was on display in The Ville.
Antonio Reeves’ first-half scoring rampage (see above) turbocharged the Kentucky effort. But UK’s other super-senior, West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell, also starred, producing a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Adou Thiero also gave Kentucky a significant first-half boost with seven points and four rebounds.
Of UK’s ballyhooed freshmen, Justin Edwards showed life with 13 points and seven rebounds. Reed Sheppard notched his first college double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. Robert Dillingham reached double figures with 12 points.
It was not a good night for UK’s D.J. Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw — both of whom were ardently recruited by Louisville’s Kenny Payne as high school stars in Camden, New Jersey.
Wagner, playing against the team that his grandfather, Milt Wagner, led to the 1986 NCAA title, played only three minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls. He missed his first five shots of the game and did not score at all until converting a layup with 54.8 seconds left in the game.
Bradshaw, meanwhile, also battled foul trouble and finished with two points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
4. Cats continue rivalry dominance of Cards. With its victory, Kentucky now leads the all-time series with Louisville 39-17. In the modern rivalry (since 1983), UK now leads U of L 30-14.
At 4-3, UK now also has a winning record versus U of L in the Yum Center.
5. Coaching records in modern Cats-Cards era. Since the original “Dream Game” in the 1983 NCAA Tournament ushered in the modern Kentucky-Louisville men’s basketball rivalry, this is how coaches at both schools have fared in the rivalry:
Kentucky: John Calipari 13-3, Billy Gillispie 0-2, Tubby Smith 6-4, Rick Pitino 6-2, Eddie Sutton 3-1, Joe B. Hall 2-2.
Louisville: Kenny Payne 0-2, Chris Mack 1-2, David Padgett 0-1, Rick Pitino 6-12, Denny Crum 7-13.
Antonio Reeves’ electric first half is too much for Louisville in another rivalry rout
Box score from No. 9 Kentucky basketball’s 95-76 win over Louisville
Shot chart from No. 9 Kentucky basketball’s 95-76 win over Louisville
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