Kentucky-Louisville Preview
By: Dr. John Huang
(CHICAGO, Il.) – Whether referencing the weather off of Lake Michigan or its bloviating citizenry, Chicago’s “windy city” moniker was right on target in describing the performance of Kentucky’s Men’s Basketball team this past weekend at the CBS Sports Classic. An 80-72 upset victory at the United Center over the hated 9th-ranked Tar Heels literally blew new life into a Big Blue fan base that had been reeling since the opening day haymaker punch from Duke.
Desperately in need of a mood-altering victory against a brand name opponent, the 19th-ranked Wildcats (9-2) scrapped, hustled, and defended their way to an emotion-evoking win. Playing at a frenetic pace, the Cats appeared loose and carefree, as if cavorting on Michigan Avenue or frolicking along Navy Pier.They made the Tar Heels (8-3) look surprisingly twitchy and spastic at times, like skittery blue shadows fumbling across the downtown Chicago skyline.
When I glanced at the 2018-19 Kentucky Men’s Basketball schedule earlier this summer, four games—Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, and Kansas—clearly stood out. The Krzyzewski shellacking to start the season was clearly bad for morale, so this resume-building win against Roy Williams helps to somewhat right the ship. Some would say that beating the powder blue elitists and their “Carolina Way” may even have salvaged the season. Either way, regarding tournament seeding,the upcoming YUM Center showdown now takes on a do-or-die significance.
When Louisville coach Chris Mack took over the scandal-ridden mess of the Cardinal basketball program, few thought the game this year would be even remotely competitive. Surely Kentucky, with its usual staple of McDonald’s All-Americans and a returning nucleus of seasoned veterans, would run roughshod over the table scraps of talent left in the wake of Rick Pitino’s indiscretions.
But not so fast, my friend. Mack has his team at 9-3, having won six out of their last seven games after a 73-59 thumping of the Robert Morris Colonials on Friday night. Jordan Nwora scored seven of his nineteen points during a decisive 20-2 spurt to lead the Cards to the come-from-behind victory. Nwora, a 6’7”, 225-pound forward, is averaging 17.8 points and 8.5 rebounds on the year. The senior from Buffalo, N.Y. spearheads a relatively inexperienced team that lost four of its five starters from last year’s 22-14 squad.
V.J. King, who started in all 36 games last year at shooting guard, is the Cards’ lone returning starter. He joins a stable of eight returning lettermen all contributing to a smoothly balanced attack. Malik Williams, a 6’11”, 245-pound sophomore anchors a productive bench that accounts for nearly half of the team’s points. Louisville gets to the foul line a lot—and there’s no doubt that trend will continue with a friendly whistle within the confines of the YUM Center on Saturday afternoon.
The bottom line is that the Cards are better than anyone expected, and their home court is always jazzed to the hilt. They present another huge challenge for a visiting Kentucky team seeking another big win. In the series, Kentucky has won six out of the last seven, and ten out of the last twelve—but that won’t mean anything in the usual scheme of things. When this rivalry game tips off, you can throw all those records out the window.
“I heard the atmosphere is crazy for Kentucky/Louisville,” said Tyler Herro. “One of the fans told us when we first got here that you can lose every game—just not the Louisville game. It’s going to be fun. Just going to approach that game like any other game and go out there and compete.”
I like Kentucky in this one. Coming off a huge win, the team seems to have turned a corner. Ashton Hagans has given this team such a huge defensive lift. The Wildcats have definitely improved over the past few weeks, and you can sense the confidence meter shooting upward. Plus, Calipari owns Louisville during his time at the helm. Sure, Rick Pitino’s no longer on the opposing bench, but beating the Cards on their own home court will be just as sweet as ever.
Dr. John Huang is a columnist for Nolan Group Media. If you enjoy his writing, you can read more at www.huangswhinings.com or follow him on Twitter @KYHuangs.Artiu