Louisville basketball mailbag: Previewing UofL vs. UK between Pat Kelsey, Mark Pope

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If you believe Pat Kelsey and Chucky Hepburn, Louisville basketball did not pay this weekend’s game against archrival Kentucky any mind until after it eked out a win over UTEP on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

Now that the Cardinals’ (6-4) first true road game of the season, a matchup against the No. 5 Wildcats (9-1) and first-year head coach Mark Pope at 5:15 p.m. Saturday inside Rupp Arena, is on the horizon, though …

“The most important game in the history of the program is the next one we play,” Kelsey told reporters after his team rallied to beat the Miners, 77-74. “Three hours ago, it was this one right here. That’s the deal.”

“Me, personally, I’m going to start watching film tonight,” Hepburn added, “because I really want this game.”

This edition of The Courier Journal’s U of L basketball mailbag sets the table for the 57th installment of the Cards vs. the Cats; and this one will be unlike any other since the rivalry game became an annual blockbuster on the sports calendar during the 1980s. That’s because, for the first time since 1930, both programs weathered coaching changes during the same offseason.

Louisville has lost two in a row, and five of the past six meetings, against UK. As of Thursday morning, KenPom.com gave Kelsey and his band of eight healthy scholarship players only a 15% chance of upsetting Pope’s team, which is dealing with some injuries of its own.

How will the first chapter of this new era in the commonwealth unfold? We’ll start with a question from a reader who’s curious about the frontcourt matchups:

How does Louisville match up against Kentucky’s forwards this weekend? — James Schmitt

Louisville’s James Scott (0) battled Ole Miss’s Malik Dia (0) for a loose ball during their game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 3, 2024.

Louisville will be at a disadvantage. With Kasean Pryor sidelined for the remainder of the season, it’ll be like that more often than not for the Cards the rest of the way.

Kentucky’s Amari Williams and…

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Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2024-12-13 10:19:00

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