No. 9 Kentucky men’s basketball was outdueled by No. 12 Louisville on Tuesday night, falling 96-88 inside the KFC Yum! Center.
The “Battle of the Bluegrass” hadn’t seen a game like Tuesday’s in some time; the energy was unbelievable, both teams were ranked top-12 in the AP poll for the first time in nearly a decade and both head coaches are still relatively new to each program.
It was the first time Louisville sold out a game since 2017, and NBA superstar and former Cardinal (2015-17) Donovan Mitchell sat courtside.
One could tell that the rivalry was reincarnated before the game even tipped off. Both the anxiousness and eagerness to see the result were evident.
But once the ball did tip and the lights got bright, it was even more evident when both sides combined for 27 points in the first five minutes — they came to play.
Kentucky had a strong chance at winning this game once the ball tipped. Its offense started fast, was decently consistent and was able to put up 46 points before halftime.
The Cats got up to 88 points, shot nearly 50% from the field and 35.3% from deep, but where they got burned, however, was solely on the defensive end.
Kentucky allowed Louisville to put up 53 points in the first half alone while letting Cardinal freshman Mikal Brown Jr. have a breakout performance.
Brown Jr. put up a game-high 29 points, two rebounds and five assists while shooting 50% from the field and 30% from beyond the 3-point arc.
“He (Brown Jr.) is a special player,” Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope said. “He is a terrific floor general, he really, really, really hurt us.”
The Cats also allowed Ryan Conwell to get hot, letting the senior accompany Brown Jr. with 24 points, one rebound and two assists of his own.
Kentucky was fairly undisciplined and shot itself in the foot there, fouling the Cardinals 21 times while allowing them to tack on an extra 21 points from the charity stripe.
Kentucky has serious national title aspirations, but if it doesn’t correct its defensive flaws, it’ll be almost impossible for it to make a deep run against the nation’s best in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cats look to regroup and bounce back on Friday, Nov. 14, against Eastern Illinois inside Rupp Arena.
Tipoff for that game is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be viewed on SEC Network+.
