Louisville falls to Kentucky 86-63, now sits at 2-12

The rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky was renewed this weekend after a two-year drought in the historic battle. Last year, the game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Louisville organization. Little did then-Head Coach Chris Mack know that his last time within the eternal hatred between these two programs would be on Saturday December 26, 2020, in which the Cardinals edged out the WIldcats by three points.

Now, Louisville is led by former famed Calipari assistant Kenny Payne and is off to a forgettable start to the season. After Saturday’s loss, the Cardinals now sit at 2-12 on the season with their next scheduled matchup against Syracuse tomorrow night at 7:00 PM EST at the KFC Yum! Center.

The most positive takeaway from the game is the jerseys Louisville donned in Lexington. The crispy red and white retro jerseys pierced the sea of blue in the building and was a beacon of future hope for this program.

Senior guard El Ellis led the Cardinals in scoring with 23 points, but was narrowly eclipsed for the leading scorer in the game. Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin each buried 24 points for a combined 48 points of their 86 team points.

Tshiebwe also added 14 rebounds to the contest and continued to prove his importance to this Kentucky team. The 6-foot-9 forward was extremely efficient with his time on the court, finishing 10-for-13 from the field in 37 minutes. Toppin followed closely behind finishing 10-for-15 from the field in 35 minutes of gameplay.

The talent and continuity within the Kentucky organization proved too much for a struggling Cardinals team in the first year under a new head coach and in their first season without a dark cloud of potential turmoil over the program as it sat motionless in light of a ruling from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP).

Some solace that Louisville fans can find this season is that Kenny Payne isn’t the first head coach to start his coaching career with a losing record.

Four of the best coaches ever in college basketball are on that list, which includes Payne’s former colleague, friend, and now rival, John Calipari. With seventeen games left in the regular season, it’s difficult to say how well the Cardinals will do for the remainder of the season. But, there is hope on the horizon, and it comes in the form of unrestricted access to the transfer portal and a full season under Coach Payne’s belt to help him get settled into the program and succeed in the day-to-day operations.