Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s victory against rival Louisville
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Game day: No. 5 Kentucky 93, Louisville 85
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Louisville in Lexington.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 93-85 win against Louisville on Saturday at Rupp Arena.
1. Lamont Butler put on a show
Last Saturday, BBN enjoyed Kentucky’s epic overtime 90-89 win at Gonzaga. This Saturday, BBN enjoyed an epic performance from point guard Lamont Butler in a game that means perhaps more to the Kentucky fandom than any other.
The San Diego State transfer was “spectacular,” in the words of teammate Jaxson Robinson. Butler scored a career-high 33 points — 10 more than his previous career best. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor, including a 6-for-6 from 3-point range.
“I wish I had hit my free throws,” grumbled the perfectionist after going 7-for-12 from the foul line. He said it with a smile.
That’s the same Lamont Butler who missed the last two games. An ankle injury kept him out of the Gonzaga win in Seattle and UK’s victory over Colgate on Wednesday. In fact, as late as Friday it was not clear that Butler would be ready in time for the clash with the Cardinals. It was crystal clear to Louisville coach Pat Kelsey.
“I said, that cat is playing in this game,” Kelsey said afterward. “You can mark that one down. He’s a stone-cold killer. He’s a winner.”
Kelsey knows. Butler helped his Aztecs beat the Charleston team coached by Kelsey 63-57 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. That was the first game in San Diego State’s run to the Final Four. The same Final Four in which Butler hit the winning shot over Florida Atlantic in the national semifinals to send his team to the national championship game.
Saturday might have even jumped to No. 1 on the personal highlight reel.
“Lamont Butler,” Mark Pope said afterward, “just gave us one of the greatest performances in the history of this super special game.”
2. The atmosphere was as good as the game
You might have wondered what the atmosphere would be like for this UK-U of L edition. Two new coaches, after all. Two new teams. Kentucky had won five of the last six meetings. Ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25, the Cats were favored over the unranked Cards.
Turned out, the energy in Rupp Arena was as good as it has ever been for the Cats-Cards, if not better.
“Great college atmosphere, great college game,” Kelsey said.
Much of that has to do with the way the Kentucky fan base feels about this coach and this team. Pope is more than a favorite son — Pope joked afterward about how he had tried to put out of his mind the bus ride back with Coach Rick Pitino from Louisville after losing to the Cardinals as a player — but a coach who BBN feels has brought the feeling back, the feeling of what it’s like to be a Kentucky basketball fan.
There also appeared to be a respect that both teams had for each other Saturday. Louisville is on the uptick, as well. Yes, the Cards dropped to 6-5. But the U of L rotation is down to 7-8 players thanks to injuries. They’re shorthanded. Still, Kelsey has his team playing hard. “I loved our resiliency,” he said afterward.
Even when there was a little scrum near the Louisville bench in the second half, it was much ado about little. UK’s Brandon Garrison lost his balance and fell into the Cardinals’ bench. There was a bit of pushing. And Pope raced down to protect his guys. No punches. Not even a shove. No harm, no foul. As they returned to the benches, Kelsey gave a “we’re good” sign to Pope, who returned the gesture.
Said the UK coach, “It’s an honor to be part of this great game.”
3. Pope says the best is yet to come
Kentucky is now 10-1. The Cats are ranked No. 5 in the nation. They’ve beaten two top-10 teams. They have won their rivalry game. And yet afterward you could tell that Pope believes his team can still get so much better.
“Our ceiling is so much higher than where we are,” the coach said.
He’s talking execution. Pope pointed out there were times his Cats did not execute on either side of the floor the way he wants. Not precise enough. And yet, they lead the nation in scoring and are among the top 30 teams in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy’s number crunching. (That defensive rating took a hit Saturday.)
He’s also talking education. Asked afterward when he knew this group would click, the coach said he learned so much in the preseason. He singled out the trip to eastern Kentucky to rebuild homes affected by flooding. Not one player hid from the work, Pope said. Not one player complained. He learned a lot about the team’s character.
There’s still a lot to learn. Pope learned Saturday that his team could handle the challenge of a rivalry game against an in-state school. Soon, he’ll learn if the Cats are up to the challenge of playing an 18-game schedule against what is the best basketball conference in the country. And right now, it’s not even close.
This story was originally published December 14, 2024 at 9:36 PM.
