BACON'S BITS: CATS TOP CARDS, 75-73

By Mark Bacon

Kentucky defeated in-state arch rival, Louisville yesterday, 75-73, in Rupp Arena. They were as evenly matched as they have been in a while; flawed but also with promise.

• There were great individual performances. Louisville got 27 points from Damion Lee and 15 from Trey Lewis. Kentucky got 21 points from Tyler Ulis and 14 from Alex Poythress.

• Louisville had a chance, with 12.5 seconds left and the ball, to tie the game or win it. Despite Kentucky making 11 out of 23 threes.

• The Cards erased a 16-point deficit in the second half and had this last chance. Lee took the ball, tried to drive on Poythress, was cut off, and stepped back to try a three. He also briefly lost control of the ball when his hand brushed his jersey, and misfired on the game’s final shot.

• Lee’s tenacity in a tough road environment, and freshman Donovan Mitchell’s second-half contributions, are noteworthy.

• U of L outscored UK 38-24 in the paint, 18-14 off turnovers, 23-11 on second-chance points, 6-0 on the fast break and 19-18 off the bench. It outrebounded the Cats 39-29 on its home court. It outscored Kentucky 37-31 in the second half, and at Rupp Arena, shot just three fewer free throws and made only one fewer.

• You do all those things, you should win. But kudos to Kentucky. Ulis making threes from NBA distance. Dominique Hawkins burying three of four threes to finish with 13 points.

• Pitino went with his 2-3 matchup zone defense. Kentucky responded by shooting alights out from three-point range. Wildcats win their fourth straight over the Cardinals, and eighth of the past nine between the teams.

• “Look, they made jump shots that I wouldn’t want my guys to take,” Pitino told Bob Valvano in his postgame radio interview. “So you have to give them credit. Here’s a kid (Hawkins) that’s 1 for 9 and makes 3 out of 4. You’ve got to give them credit. That was the difference-maker in the game. They’re literally 7-8 feet behind the line, they make the shot. (Quentin Snider) has to know with Ulis. Hawkins is one thing, but Q had to know to get up on Ulis with time running out (on the shot clock). Just credit them.”

• Now, what everyone is talking about is a finger that Rick Pitino may or may not have flashed at a fan on his way up the tunnel after the postgame handshakes.

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