Louisville takes the fight to Cats, holds off late UK rally for 96-88 win
Much like the first true road game a year ago at Clemson, Kentucky wasn’t quite up to the assignment on Tuesday night at Louisville.
The No. 12 Cardinals took the fight to the No. 9 Wildcats early and held big leads in each half before fending off a furious late rally for a 96-88 win at the KFC Yum Center.
Backcourt duo Mikel Brown and Ryan Conwell combined for 53 points as Louisville (3-0) snapped a three-game losing streak to its Bluegrass State rival. Brown led the way with 29 points, knocked down 10 of 11 free throws, and dished out five assists.
“He’s a special player,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said of the freshman sensation. “I think he’s really talented. He was great tonight. He’s a terrific floor general… he did a ton of damage just making the right decisions, getting downhill.”
Brown and Conwell helped Louisville build an 18-point lead in the first half and a 20-point lead in the second half with 12:24 remaining.
Kentucky (2-1) used a 26-10 run to get back into the game. The Cats clawed within 88-84 with 4:02 remaining, throwing a big scare into the red-clad portion of the sellout crowd of 22,586, but UK managed to score only four points the rest of the way.
The Cards did their best to assist the comeback by missing seven of their last eight free throws, but Kentucky could not take advantage. The Cats had a turnover, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and came up empty on three open 3-pointers in the final minutes of play.
Pope said the assist-to-turnover ratio was the biggest difference in the two teams on a night when most of the stat sheet was neck and neck. Louisville dished out 20 assists and had just six turnovers; Kentucky was 14:14.
“Sometimes the emotion or momentum of the game makes you try to do too much,” said the UK boss. “We just divorced ourselves from the very simple, basic principles that can help us be successful… We didn’t make the simple play and forced the issue at times.
“This was a terrible, terrible night.”
Pope liked what he saw from the Cats’ effort to get back in the game, but says they will focus on playing smarter in the days to come.
“All of our guys gave effort; it was just dumb effort and ill-timed effort,” Pope said.
Unlike the Louisville stars in the backcourt, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, struggled. He went 4-for-13 from the field and had five turnovers before fouling out down the stretch with a minus-16 on-floor rating.
Transfer guard Denzel Aberdeen led the Cats with a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds. Oweh and Collin Chandler each followed with 12 points.
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In our regular postgame feature, Cats Illustrated touches on some quick hitters from the UK loss…
GAME BALL:
Mikel Brown, Louisville — The Cardinals’ freshman sensation from Orlando, Fla., was everything he was billed to be coming into the season. He scored 20 of his game-high 29 points in the first half as Louisville established a big lead and the aggressor’s mindset. He went 10-of-11 at the free-throw line and dished out five assists.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st – Win for Louisville in the series vs. Kentucky by more than three points since a 20-point win in the 2002 season. The Cats have still won 14 of the last 18 against the Cardinals and lead the all-time rivalry 40-18.
-9 – Point differential at the free-throw line. Louisville knocked down 21 of 31 attempts; Kentucky made 12 of 16.
11 – Steals by the Cardinals. Aly Khalifa led UofL with three.
19 – Points off turnovers for Louisville.
25 – Made 3-pointers between the two teams, 13 for the Cards and 12 for the Cats. UK shot 35% to 33% for UofL.
42-40 – Rebounding edge for Kentucky. Denzel Aberdeen led the Cats with seven.
QUOTABLE:
“We have a long way to go. We’re not a great basketball team right now, but we have a chance to become a really good one… We have a really high ceiling. I’ve got a lot of faith in these guys. They do have a great competitive spirit.” — UK head coach Mark Pope
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Friday against Eastern Illinois in the final game of the BBN United Tipoff Classic. The Panthers (1-2) lost 78-58 on Tuesday at Notre Dame, but played the Fighting Irish to a three-point game at halftime. Tipoff at Rupp Arena is slated for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.