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Kentucky vs Louisville recap: 3 things we learned

By Cody Williams

Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Mychal Mulder (11) battles Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) for a rebound during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Mychal Mulder (11) battles Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) for a rebound during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Louisville Cardinals bested the Kentucky Wildcats in a thriller on Wednesday. What did we learn from the top-10 clash?

Continuing one of the best rivalries in college sports, the Kentucky Wildcats visited the Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center. Not only that, though, this served as a top-10 matchup for the end-of-year college basketball slate as conference play is on the horizon. With each team having only one loss, this was a huge late-december clash.

As expected, the action was tightly contested in furious. Neither team could seem to secure a comfortable edge over their rival in the first half, a trend that continued in the second 20 minutes as well. Perhaps more surprising, the explosive Kentucky offense looked far less than throughout the night, playing far too much in isolation and not making enough shots simply.

With the starters for Louisville far exceeding their season-average output offensively, they pulled ahead late against the Wildcats. Though a Malik Monk three brought the score to 71-70 in favor of the home team, Louisville, the Cardinals sunk two free throws with seconds remaining. Monk then missed the potential game-tying three to seal the win for the Cardinals.

So what did we learn from this rivalry game? Let’s dive in.

1. Louisville’s Defense is (Almost) Matchup Proof

Aside from being one of the best rivalries in college sports, the narrative coming into this one was all about a great offense facing off with a great defense. Kentucky entered the game with the third-best scoring offense in the country, putting up 95.2 points per game. Meanwhile, Pitino’s squad ranked 11th in the nation in defense, allowing a meager 59.4 points per game. Thus, the question was which would give on Wednesday night.

As it turns out, it was the defense of the Cardinals.

Though 70 points may be a solid showing for the majority of offenses in the country, that’s not so much the case for this high-powered Kentucky team. Louisville completely took their offense out of rhythm and limited what they like to do. Where Kentucky was hooting 49 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three on the year, their rivals held them to 39.7 and 22.7 percent, respectively. Add in the fact that they cut down on the ball-movement Kentucky likes to get and this was a dominant showing for the Cardinals. If they can show that effort against a team like the Wildcats, they can beat any team in the country with their defense.

2. Neither Team Can Count on Their Bench

Obviously teams are going to rely heavily on starters in a game like this. However, there were still 143 points scored in the matchup and only 18 combined came from substitutes. Derek Willis and Mychal Mulder each chipped in six points for UK while Ray Spalding contributed six to Louisville’s cause. Outside of that, there was no scoring on the bench.

This isn’t the NBA where you have sixth men coming in to average 20 per game. However, teams are going to need bench players able to deliver instant offense when it comes to the tournament and that time of year in general. So to see that in such a big game shows the room for improvement with each of these teams early in the season.

Next: 12 Biggest Cinderellas In March Madness History

3. Malik Monk is Still Big Time

Following freshman Malik Monk’s exploits in the win over North Carolina, it was pretty clear that he was ready to rise to the occasion in big matchups. However, there were concerns about how the young player would follow it up. And as a whole, his sequel held true to the rule and wasn’t nearly as quality as the original. Entering the last minute of play, the budding Kentucky star was merely 0-7 from three. But when the Wildcats needed a big bucket, he made his first of the night to cut the Cardinals lead to one.

Ultimately, Monk missed the potential game-tying three later on a mildly contested look. However, the fact he was able to rise up at the end of the game when his team needed his outside shooting. He needs to improve his consistency moving forward to truly be a star that can lead this team, but the signs of him being that player sooner rather than later are there.