One of the biggest rivalries in college basketball will take center stage Tuesday night when No. 12 Louisville hosts its in-state archrival, No. 9 Kentucky.
The Cardinals (2-0) enter the game looking to end a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats (2-0), who have won six of the last seven matchups between the schools.
Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said he understands what this game means to fans of the program. He said they remind him of the rivalry anytime he goes out in public.
“I didn’t need to say too much to our guys in the locker room afterwards,” Kelsey said Thursday after his team dispatched Jackson State 106-70. “It’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere here at the Yum Center.”
On Nov. 3, the Cardinals opened the season with a 104-45 victory over South Carolina State. Coupled with the ensuing win over Jackson State, it is the first time they have beaten opponents by 30 or more in back-to-back games since December 2016, and the first time they have topped the century mark two straight times since December 2010.
Sophomore Khani Rooths averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two wins. A top reserve last season, Rooths earned his first career start against Jackson State due to J’Vonne Hadley being in concussion protocol. Hadley, a sixth-year guard who had 13 points and nine rebounds against South Carolina State, might be available Tuesday.
Louisville did get senior Kasean Pryor back against Jackson State. The 6-foot-10 wing played 16 minutes and scored six points in his first game since he tore the ACL in his left knee in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship nearly a year ago.
Kelsey said Pryor, who averaged 12 points and 6.1 rebounds in the seven games before suffering that season-ending injury, will take the Cardinals “to a whole other level” this season.
Pryor said Thursday he set a goal of coming back ahead of the Kentucky game.
“It’s all adversity. That’s all life is,” he said. “You just find a way to navigate and still be successful, even with the bumps.”
Kentucky, meanwhile, cruised in its first two games, beating Nicholls 77-51 last Tuesday and Valparaiso 107-59 on Friday.
The Wildcats have enjoyed balanced scoring, with seven players averaging 10 or more points per game. Collin Chandler leads at 14.5, and 7-foot, 250-pound freshman Malachi Moreno came off the bench to pace the Wildcats with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Valparaiso.
“He’s got a physicality that might be surprising,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said of his big man, who is averaging 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in less than 20 minutes in the first two games of his collegiate career.
“I think when you look at him, you expect he’s going to feel a certain way when you actually make contact with him, but I think he’s way stronger. I think he’s doing an unbelievable job rebounding out of his area, and he’s determined.”
Tuesday’s game will mark the 18th time the two schools enter the contest ranked. The last time was on Dec. 28, 2019, when No. 19 Kentucky knocked off visiting No. 3 Louisville 78-70 in overtime.
–Field Level Media
