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Kentucky Fights Back but Comes Up Short to Louisville

By on December 29, 2012

Photo: @derekpoore

What looked like a potential blowout with Kentucky down 51-34, turned into a barnburner in the 2nd half, but Louisville had enough at the end to pull out an 80-77 win.

Camp Cal obviously paid off as the Wildcats looked much improved in desire and hustle, as they never quit, and that was shown most by freshman Willie Cauley-Stein.

Willie finished with only 6 points, but had several big plays that kept Kentucky in the game when they needed it the most. Not everything was perfect for Cauley-Stein though, as he was 0-4 from the free throw line.

Archie Goodwin gave his best Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde performance, making a super play and then a play where he was totally out of control. Goodwin finished with 22 points to lead Kentucky in scoring, but 5 turnovers that were mostly attributed to playing like a chicken with his head cut off.

Nerlens Noel was very active but couldn’t do a lot offensively, scoring 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Ryan Harrow had an outstanding game as he continues to improve as the Wildcats point guard. Harrow had 0 turnovers in 39 minutes of play, scored 17 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had 3 assists.

Alex Poythress. I believe this is the first time his named has been mentioned this evening. He finished with 7 points in 15 minutes and one has to wonder if the supposed lottery pick will ever show he is capable of being a future pro.

Kyle Wiltjer had 14 points on 4-7 shooting from the three and after a quiet first half hit several big shots that kept them in the game.

All in all, this was a big step for a very young Wildcat team, and Louisville earned Rick Pitino’s first win over John Calipari since he came to Kentucky.