Louisville/Kentucky

[Rico444]

Louisville jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but Kentucky leads now 34-30. Louisville does not look very good in the halfcourt.

 

[3uconn]

Kentucky is finally playing as good as many thought they would. Unreal size on the court at all times.

 

[BearJWS]

Russ Smith just threw down a nasty dunk on Randle. Randle has been unguardable though.

 

[champs99and04]

Hancock killed Louisville that half. Missed several open threes, fouled a three point shooter, got beat for multiple rebounds inside. Blackshear going to the bench with two early fouls was big.

Also, Randle is a load. And I have no clue why a five star recruit like Dakari Johnson decided to go to Kentucky and play ten minutes a game.

 

[Kitaman]

You can tell this is a rivalry these guys are putting it all out there.

 

[3uconn]

You can tell this is a rivalry these guys are putting it all out there.

Definitely. Noticed that as well. It's even better when both teams are really good.

 

[selles]

Kentucky is finally playing as good as many thought they would. Unreal size on the court at all times.

Kentucky's size at all positions is absurd. Louisville looks like a classic post national title team - ton of talent but lost a couple guys and the chemistry that was magic last year doesn't seem to be there.

 

[Kitaman]

Definitely. Noticed that as well. It's even better when both teams are really good.

Yeah, with all of uk freshman I'm actually surprised to see them 'seemingly' understand the importance of this game.

 

[aceboon]

Hancock killed Louisville that half. Missed several open threes, fouled a three point shooter, got beat for multiple rebounds inside. Blackshear going to the bench with two early fouls was big.

Also, Randle is a load. And I have no clue why a five star recruit like Dakari Johnson decided to go to Kentucky and play ten minutes a game.

I think when Johnson committed it was still up in the air if Cauley-Stein would also go pro along with Noel. I wonder if Marcus Lee goes there if Randle had committed before him instead of after. He's another 5 star and he doesn't get any run unless its a blowout.

 

[champs99and04]

I think when Johnson committed it was still up in the air if Cauley-Stein would also go pro along with Noel. I wonder if Marcus Lee goes there if Randle had committed before him instead of after. He's another 5 star and he doesn't get any run unless its a blowout.

That makes more sense. I'm sure that's part of the reason some Kentucky recruits have started to shy away from LOI's and started signing binding agreements ala Daniel Hamilton - Calipari has proven he's not going to stop recruiting at your position if he gets a four or five star.

 

[3uconn]

Yeah, with all of uk freshman I'm actually surprised to see them 'seemingly' understand the importance of this game.

Good point. However, I think this is one of the rivalries that once you join either team you instantly hate the other. It comes with being a part of either team.

 

[champs99and04]

Russ Smith is destroying Kentucky off the bounce so far in the second half.

 

[BoatShow]

Hey BC, get relevant so we can do this every year.

 

[huskyharry]

Randall was a non-factor for the 2nd half for medical reasons (cramps?) but Kensucky has continued to wear L'ville out. I thought fouls were largely called in Kensucky's favor for most of the game but the talent gap was apparent. Now, I have no doubt L'ville will play 200% better when they face us.

 

[Jerry1714]

Louisville has played two teams with a pulse, 0-2 against them. No true pg, bad half court offense, lack of big men, this our conference for the taking.

 

[huskyharry]

Louisville has played two teams with a pulse, 0-2 against them. No true pg, bad half court offense, lack of big men, this our conference for the taking.

Their schedule has been weak and their point guard play quite spotty, but you could argue that Stanford is not a team with much of a pulse, either.

 

[BearJWS]

Randall was a non-factor for the 2nd half for medical reasons (cramps?) but Kensucky has continued to wear L'ville out. I thought fouls were largely called in Kensucky's favor for most of the game but the talent gap was apparent. Now, I have no doubt L'ville will play 200% better when they face us.

Spot on review. LVille was called for ticky tack fouls, but showed no ability to make shots themselves. Jones was the only consistent for LVille. Second half was a dud.

 

[BoatShow]

And now LCC taking on Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl in what could become a great ACC rivalry.

 

[champs99and04]

Louisville has a ton of talent, but it seems like they have a lot of the same problems we have in that their back court has to burden a little too much of the load at times. Jones and Smith combined to take 33 shots, Behanan and Harrell combined for five shots. I don't know what the deal is with Behanan - I know he's had some behavioral problems this season and in the past, but it seems like he's regressed every season since he's been there. Harrell's a big time athlete and could be a great player with some seasoning, but he's very raw right now and can't really create anything for himself. Chris Jones has been solid for them, but Siva was able to generate a lot of easy shots at the rim for Louisville big men last season by penetrating and collapsing the defense, and Jones and Smith just don't appear to have that same knack. Blackshear's another disappointment, he just hasn't panned out for whatever reason.

Overall, in the two games I've seen Louisville play this season (this one and the UNC Game), their calibration on offense has been out of whack, and unless Behanan or Harrell step up, their half court offense will continue to resemble some of the cringe-worthy half-court offenses of the Pitino era. I'll be happy to be proven wrong, as UConn really needs Louisville to be formidable this season for the sake of the AAC, but this Cardinals team reminds me a lot of UConn's 2012 team and I think they're going to drop a few more.

 

[Jerry1714]

Their schedule has been weak and their point guard play quite spotty, but you could argue that Stanford is not a team with much of a pulse, either.

What about Florida? IU? Are you trying to stay our resume is just as weak? Because that is laughable

 

[huskyharry]

Our schedule has been significantly better than L'ville's so far. Stanford is not likely to be an NCAA team and was a bad loss at home. Our close wins against BCU, IU and MD are not particularly impressive...maybe IU can make the NCAAs but the others will likely not. It is certainly a good trait to be able to pull out close games, but these are not strong resume builders. Florida is a very good win at home against a tough opponent, L'ville has nothing similar on their resume to date.