Nation of Blue

Basketball

Notes from Kentucky’s Rivalry Win Over Louisville

With tonight’s 93-85 rivalry victory over Louisville, the Kentucky Wildcats are off to a 10-1 start for the first time since 2016-17.

Kentucky leads the all-time series over Louisville 40-17 and the Cats have won 8 straight games over the Cards in Rupp Arena.

From an individual standpoint, Lamont Butler’s 33 points are the second-most points by a Wildcat against Louisville (Derrick Miller scored 34 on Dec. 30, 1989).

Check out all the postgame notes from tonight’s win:




KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
DEC 14, 2024
ATTENDANCE: 21,093
 
Final Score: No. 5 Kentucky 93, Louisville 85

Team Records and Series Notes

 Kentucky is 10-1 and Louisville is 6-5.
 Kentucky leads the series 40-17 and has won three in a row.
o UK leads 22-5 in games played in Lexington and has won the last eight
meetings in Rupp Arena.

 Mark Pope is 197-109 as head coach, including 10-1 at Kentucky.
 Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats have fall semester examinations this week
before traveling to New York City for a Saturday matchup with Ohio State in the
CBS Sports Classic. Game time is 5:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.
 
Team Notes

 Kentucky is 10-1 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
 Kentucky tallied 93 points tonight. The Wildcats entered the game leading the
nation in scoring at 91.1 points per game.
o Five Wildcats scored in double figures tonight. It’s the seventh time in 11
games that at least five Cats have hit double digits in scoring.

 Kentucky shot 58.2 percent from the field, the fifth time this season the Wildcats
have shot at least 50 percent.
 UK shot a season-high 52.4 percent on 3-pointers, making 11 out of a season-
low 21 attempts.
 UK had 23 assists on its 32 made baskets, an assist percentage of 71.9.
o UK entered the game 11 th in the nation in assists with 19.1 per game.
o Four Wildcats had at least four dishes.
 UK won fast-break points 24-4.
o The Wildcats entered the game sixth in the nation in fast-break points with
19.2 per game.

 Kentucky won the rebounding tonight, 41-31. UK has won or tied the rebounding
in all but one game this season.

Player Notes  

 After missing two games because of injury, Lamont Butler made all 10 field-goal
attempts – including 6-of-6 on 3-pointers – and poured in a career-high 33 points.
o It is the most points by a Wildcat this season.
o It’s the second-most for a Wildcat vs. Louisville, Derrick Miller scored 34
on Dec. 30, 1989.
o His 10-of-10 shooting tied for the third-best shooting performance in
school history.
 Rodney Dent 12-of-12 vs. Morehead State on Dec. 17, 1993.
 Kenny Walker 11-of-11 vs. Western Kentucky on March 16, 1986.

 Justin Edwards 10-of-10 vs. Alabama on Feb. 4, 2024.
o His 6-of-6 on 3-pointers is the second-best long-range shooting
performance in school history. Wenyen Gabriel hit all seven threes he
attempted against Alabama on March 10, 2018.
o His six 3-pointers tied for the most for UK in a game vs. Louisville, also
Jeff Brassow on Dec. 29, 1990.
o In addition to career-high points, he had a career-high six 3-pointers and
tied his career-best for field goals made (10).
o Butler also had a game-high six assists.
o Since 1996-97, he is the only Division I player to make all of his shots,
score at least 33 points and get at least six assists.

 The steady Otega Oweh was second for the Cats in scoring with 17 points and
has scored double figures in every game this season.
 Jaxson Robinson had 12 points, his fourth straight game in double figures, and
tied his career best for rebounds with eight.
 Andrew Carr had 10 points and led UK with nine rebounds.
 Koby Brea had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He has made at least
one 3-pointer in every game this season and this was his ninth game with
multiples threes.

In the First Half

 Kentucky’s starters were Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh,
Andrew Carr and Amari Williams. UK has an 8-1 record with this lineup.
 Brandon Garrison and Koby Brea were the first substitutions at 16:04.
 Kentucky made its first five field-goal attempts and two free throws in jumping out
to a 14-5 lead, coaxing a Louisville timeout at 16:59.
 Kentucky led by as many as 12 points at 28-16.
 Louisville edged closer as Kentucky went to halftime ahead 46-40. The Wildcats
shot 70 percent from the field, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, as Butler had 12
points and Robinson had 10.

In the Second Half

 Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
 Butler made three threes early in the half, and following a Garrison dunk to make
it 57-47, Louisville called timeout at the 16:32 mark.
 At 59-49, the Cardinals scored seven straight points to narrow the count to 59-
56.
 Ahead 64-61, Brea swished a closely guarded 3-pointer, sparking a 7-0 run to
make it 71-61.
 Louisville got as close as five points, 79-74, with 3:17 remaining, but got no
closer.

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