Kentucky scored on its first five possessions.
Trey. Trey. Deuce. Deuce. Oscar Tshiebwe ORB and score.
12-2.
Kentucky scored on its next five possesions.
Deuce. Deuce after two ORBs. Deuce. FT. Deuce.
21-12.
Finally, with 12:37 on the clock, the Wildcats turned it over. On their 11th possession.
The Cardinals, to their credit, did not quit. They played UK generally even — more or less at least through halftime– and were down 15 at the break, 30-45.
They had but 2 assists on 13 made FGs. UK had 9 assists and was hitting 63%. Rebounds: UK 19, U of L 10.
The Cadinals scored the first seven points after intermission, cutting the score to 45-37. Kentucky countered with the next six consecutive.
U of L never got that close again.
Final score: Kentucky 86, Louisville 63.
Wildcats outrebounded Cardinals by 13.
Wildcats outscored Cardinals in the paint by 12.
Wildcats outscored Cardinals on points off turnovers by 9.
Wildcats outscored Cardinals on 2d chance points by 8.
OK, right, lots of numbers.
Stats tell the story as much as anything.
* * * * *
Are we supposed to rehash telling moments?
A Cardinals trapped in the corner and a teammate coming too close, essentially adding a defender.
A player who continually drives to the hoop and wildly hurls the rock toward the basket with no chance. Essentially a turnover but only tallied as a missed shot.
A player moving before inbounding the ball after being told to stay put.
Allowing that Tshiebwe fellow to rebound his own missed FT.
Shot clock violations because of how late the offense gets started.
No, no reason to rehash.
* * * * *
There were moments Saturday afternoon when U of L looked improved in some small areas.
But the bar is so low in the context of the season, they were of no consequence.
* * * * *
Is there a reason the only player named in this Louisville-oriented recap is Oscar Tshiebwe?
Yes.
23 points. 14 rebounds, 8 on the offensive glass.
OK, Jacob Toppin had a career high 24 with 7 boards.
* * * * *
Next: Syracuse. Tuesday.
— c d kaplan
Birthday Tuesday, wondering if it would be cruel to me to go to that game….. Age but 3 below Cards point total today.
Hard choice🥳😳
I’ll pass. Happy New Year CD☮️
About what I expected. In spite of the terrible start and bonehead plays, the effort was there most of the time and if they play like that they may win a few games. What a depressing statement. Still happy with the KP hire?
This guy Toppin exploited a big defect in our zone-time after time. Who is supposed to correct or repair this?