As the battle draws near, UK men’s basketball may hold a familiar edge over U of L
Hoopin’ our way into the holidays:
▪ During the John Calipari coaching era, the annual Kentucky-Louisville men’s basketball Armageddon has tended to be decided by which team gets the best guard play — and that has almost always been UK.
As all in these parts know well, the Wildcats are 10-2 vs. U of L under Calipari.
It may or may not mean anything for Dec. 28 — when Chris Mack brings the No. 1 (for now) Cardinals to Rupp Arena — but Louisville’s guard play was horrid in Tuesday night’s 70-57 upset loss to Texas Tech in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
U of L point guard Darius Perry committed six turnovers in 15 minutes. His backup, Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble went 1-of-5 shooting. Meanwhile, jump-shooting specialist Ryan McMahon went 2-of-7, 2-of-6 on three-pointers.
Conversely, Kentucky sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans is averaging 15.4 points and 8.8 assists over the last five games (albeit against mediocre competition).
Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley is averaging 11.2 ppg over his five previous games. Freshman Tyrese Maxey has been inconsistent but explosive when “on.” He had a 26-point game against Michigan State and a 21-point outing vs. Lamar.
There are no certainties in rivalry games. But, this week, it appears Kentucky will hold a familiar advantage when Louisville visits Rupp three days after Christmas.
▪ There will be Kentucky-Louisville basketball in Rupp Arena this Sunday at 1 p.m., when Jeff Walz brings the No. 7 Cardinals (9-1) to face Matthew Mitchell’s No. 14 Wildcats (10-0) in women’s basketball.
UK will be seeking to snap a three-game losing skid vs. U of L. Wildcats star Rhyne Howard will be seeking not to become confused over which head coach’s voice to listen to during the game.
Howard has played 42 games for UK’s Mitchell, but has also played 13 games for Walz while competing for Team USA in international competitions the past two summers.
Last summer, Howard was the leading scorer (13.1 ppg) as the Walz-coached Team USA won the gold medal in the Under-19 Women’s World Cup Tournament in Thailand.
Apparently, the U of L coach did not let the UK star forget the Cardinals’ 80-75 win over the Wildcats last season.
“He was giving me a hard time because (U of L) beat us last year,” a smiling Howard said before the season. “I just hope that when we beat (Louisville) this year, I’m going to have stuff to say back to him.”
▪ Taveion Hollingsworth, the ex-Paul Laurence Dunbar star, lit up SEC foe Arkansas last Saturday in Western Kentucky’s 86-79 overtime victory. The 6-foot-2 WKU junior produced 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Over his Hilltoppers career, the 2016 Sweet Sixteen MVP and 2017 Kentucky Mr. Basketball has made a habit of coming up big against Power Five conference teams. In 13 games against the big boys, Hollingsworth has averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists and WKU has gone 8-5.
“I feel like our team wants it more when we are going against Power Five teams,” Hollingsworth says. “We don’t want them to come here and try to show us up.”
▪ Hollingsworth was not the only former Lexington high school star who had a performance to remember for WKU last Saturday. Women’s basketball forward Dee Givens, the ex-Lafayette standout, exploded for 41 points in a 91-86 overtime victory at Ball State.
The 6-1 senior hit 14 of 28 shots, six of 14 treys and all seven of her free throws. She also claimed seven rebounds.
Givens is a cousin of former Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball star Jack Givens — whose most famous college showing was his own 41-points game in UK’s win over Duke in the 1978 NCAA title game.
▪ Quietly, Northern Kentucky men’s basketball senior forward Dantez Walton is having a stellar year. In a six-point loss at Arkansas on Nov. 30, the 6-6, 215-pound product of Lima, Ohio, hit 10 of 14 shots, scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. For the season, Walton is averaging 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 52.7 percent.
“A great kid,” says first-year Norse Coach Darrin Horn, the Tates Creek alumnus.
▪ There was bottom-line risk when the Eastern Kentucky men’s basketball program scheduled games this season with every other Division I team in the commonwealth — especially with five of the seven games on the road.
So far, EKU’s “Tour de Kentucky” has yielded defeats at Kentucky (91-49 Nov. 8), to Western Kentucky (79-71 Nov. 15) and at Northern Kentucky (76-57 Dec. 8).
Still ahead for Coach A.W. Hamilton’s Colonels are road games at Louisville (Saturday at noon), at Morehead State (Feb. 13), and at Murray State (Feb. 27), plus a home date with Morehead (Nov. 29).
Playing every other D-I team in our state in one season is cool. Going “oh-for-Kentucky” would remove some “coolness.”
