Kentucky's Dominique Hawkins passed up a three that would cause a shot clock violation with 12.6 remaining with Louisville down 75-73. Louisville's Trey Lewis cleared out and threw it to Damion Lee coming off a pick down low. Alex Poythress defended the sharp-shooter on a contested fall-away three in the corner which air balled into the hands of Jamal Murray; Kentucky wins.
Big Blue Domination
Kentucky has now won eight of the last nine meetings between the two schools, including four in a row and have not lost in Rupp Arena since 2008.
The Cardinals have kept it close however, with all four of the losses being by eight points or less. The two point victory is the smallest margin of victory by the 'Cats in the series since 2004.
A big story coming into the game was the bench difference for either team. Louisville's bench goes deep in terms of who can score for them. Kentucky gets their buckets from starters, and with another injury plaguing the Wildcats in the layup line, they needed a big push from their bench.
Guard Isaiah Briscoe was the one who went down with that injury, having tried to continue after rolling his ankle on a teammates foot. He stretched and ran and tried everything to get loose, but he was unable to look anything less than hobbled; Briscoe never saw the floor.
The bench did supply support for the Wildcats, however, as they supplied 20 points between Derek Willis, Skal Labissiere, Charles Matthews and Hawkins.
Hawkins is the feel good story of the day, a Kentucky fan from childhood getting big minutes against Louisville. The former Kentucky Mr. Basketball put up 13 points and hit 3-of-4 threes in easily his best game with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats finish non-conference play on a high note, their two losses come to some struggling teams but they have key wins over ACC teams in Louisville and Duke.
The SEC becomes a different story for Kentucky. You have to bring the game you just showed every night, because it will not be easy to win on the road with a target on your back.
But for a week, the Wildcats celebrate. For, once again, they can claim to be the best team in the state of Kentucky.
Player Statistics
Damion Lee- Lee was absolutely unstoppable on offense. Murray had no possible way of keeping this slasher from getting to the rim, too much space and his shooting will make you pay. Luckily, Kentucky used a much larger defender on the play that mattered and got the biggest stop they needed. Lee still finished with 27 points and played the full 40 minutes.
Tyler Ulis- Ulis wins the Bluegrass Sports Commission MVP for the second straight year, the only two-time winner. Ulis hit deep threes at the end of disastrous plays to keep Kentucky's momentum, not allowing the Cards to ever take a lead in the second half. The 5'9" point guard finished with 21 points and eight assists on 7-of-12 shooting.
Trey Lewis- Lewis was in foul trouble early but managed to become a threat towards the rim for Louisville late. He'd break down the defense and get it to a big man. The Louisville point guard finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Alex Poythress- The senior absolutely brought the heat 100 percent of the time in what could be his last game against Louisville. He did not want to come out with a loss, and finishes with a 3-1 record against the Cardinals all time. Poythress had 14 points and six rebounds to go with three emphatic blocks.
Upcoming Schedule
Ole Miss at #12 Kentucky 1/2/16
Wake Forest at #16 Louisville 1/3/16