On Saturday, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino held a news conference to preview Sunday’s matchup between his Cards (8-3) and UK. Almost six minutes in, Pitino offered a brief comment about Cats (11-3) junior Jodie Meeks, the nation’s eighth-best scorer.

“Meeks is one of the premiere two-guards in the country,” Pitino said, in transition from one topic to the next.

In the 20-minute news conference, that was all Pitino had to say about Meeks.

The former Cats coach voiced several other thoughts ranging numerous topics, from Louisville freshman stud Samardo Samuels all the way to a humorous anecdote about former UK equipment manager Bill Keightley sharing his distaste for Louisville while Pitino patrolled UK’s sideline.

“For years, I thought Louisville fans belonged in hell,” Pitino said.

But Pitino spared only those ten words about the Southeastern Conference’s top scorer.

While Pitino was speaking to media members in Louisville, UK coach Billy Gillispie was doing the same in Lexington. The second-year coach, who will make his Freedom Hall series debut on Sunday, said he knew what his gameplan would be — if he was in Pitino’s shoes.

“Last year, (Patterson) went 2-of-10 in the first half,” Gillispie said, referencing Patrick Patterson’s six-point, six-turnover performance in last year’s Louisville game, a 89-75 Cards win. “They did a very good job in post defense, but Patrick missed shots he normally makes. If I was playing us, I would try to take away Patrick and Meeks so we will just have to be good in other spots.”

Although Pitino didn’t mention how the Cards would defend Meeks, he alluded to what kind of defense they may throw at Patterson, who is second in the nation with a 72.2 field-goal percentage.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the country that can guard him one-on-one,” Pitnio said. “He’s worked very, very hard. They’re getting him the basketball where he needs it to shoot a high percentage.”

Even if the Cards have a contingency plan to deal with Patterson, Pitino did not reveal his thoughts on handling Meeks despite his hot hand, both as of late and historically in Freedom Hall.

In Meeks’s freshman season, he dropped a then-career-high 18 points in the Cats’ 61-49 road win over UofL on Dec. 16, 2006. And Meeks’s most recent trip to Freedom Hall, a Dec. 20 neutral-site game against Appalachian State, ended with a now-career-high 46-point blitz, the most points ever scored by a Cat in the historic arena.

After UK’s last outing, an 84-52 victory over Central Michigan, Meeks was more willing than Pitino to speak out about how he anticipated the Cards may defend him.

“I anticipate that teams in the future will defend me like Central Michigan defended me,” Meeks said. “They always had a shadow on me. I just have to not force shots. I need to pick my spots and shoot when I’m open.”

Even if Pitino won’t admit it, Meeks now realizes that he stands at the forefront of UK’s offense. And if the Cats can play their offense, Meeks said they can leave Freedom Hall happy.

“Not only is it Louisville we’re playing, but they’re at home,” Meeks said. “It’s going to be a tough game. We just have to find a way to take care of the basketball and play our offense.”