Kentucky's domination over the past decade plus has been simple... They had NBA players and Louisville didn't. 

Last night is a glimpse of what it may look like when the teams are (at least) equally talented. UK has, without question, had better teams since 2013. I think that trend is shifting. Not that Louisville will ALWAYS have the better team (even though they do this year), but the two teams will be more equally matched than they have been. 

I made it until Louisville took an 18-point lead late in the first half and then checked out.  Pope has another team that isn't going to guard anyone, but UL is also solid.  Kelsey has done a nice job there.

Updated Pomeroy ratings after game. Kentucky dropped from #1 to #5. I think both teams if stay healthy will be top 10 teams all season.

2 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

They've already played two games better than last night, LOL. 

They also got two minutes and zero production from probably our best front court player. 

That is left wide open for opinion, mine is Louisville will not play any better than they did last night.

1 minute ago, nikeman49 said:

That is left wide open for opinion, mine is Louisville will not play any better than they did last night.

They already have but go off chief. 

2 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

That is left wide open for opinion, mine is Louisville will not play any better than they did last night.

What specific elements of the game do you think Louisville played their best possible game?

31 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

That is left wide open for opinion, mine is Louisville will not play any better than they did last night.

I usually try and stay out of the "blinded by Big Blue sunglasses" type comments because its impossible to get through to those that see things from one side, but this is the third game of the season and to think that this Louisville team will not play any better the remainder of the year is somewhat of a slant.  Actually I have been waiting for that follow up comment of "well we are their Super Bowl" nonsense.

Now, if you ask me which team might improve more by years end I may lean towards UK only because of the injury to Lowe in the preseason and him not having a whole lot of time on the floor yet this season and not having Jayden Quaintance.  
If I were a UK fan I would be concerned about the defense against the drive and Oweh has to pick it up.  If I were a UL fan my first thought is where did Rooths go and is he only going to be good against bad teams, and I would be wondering if Pryor can contribute more as the season progresses. My concern if I am a UL fan is can the Cards continue to play at the speed they did and only have minimal turnovers like they did last night? If that is the case then they have a huge ceiling.  The flip side of that is, is that a by product of UK not forcing turnovers much like last season....

 

5 minutes ago, cincyswords said:

If I were a UL fan my first thought is where did Rooths go and is he only going to be good against bad teams, and I would be wondering if Pryor can contribute more as the season progresses. My concern if I am a UL fan is can the Cards continue to play at the speed they did and only have minimal turnovers like they did last night?

All valid questions. We got nothing from Rooths or Pyror last night. Rooths just scored 20+ in the last game but to your point, are we only going to get that against subpar competition?

Once Kasean gets up to speed, it can change this team in a very big way. 

While Fru played well last night, he's not anywhere close to his ceiling. He was BAD against Kansas and has looked better each game since then. I was really impressed with him last night. 

17 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

All valid questions. We got nothing from Rooths or Pyror last night. Rooths just scored 20+ in the last game but to your point, are we only going to get that against subpar competition?

Once Kasean gets up to speed, it can change this team in a very big way. 

While Fru played well last night, he's not anywhere close to his ceiling. He was BAD against Kansas and has looked better each game since then. I was really impressed with him last night. 

Pryor still getting back in shape. His minutes will increase. Only his 2nd game back coming off ACL. Kelsey said he will be major part of team down the road.

3 hours ago, cincyswords said:

I usually try and stay out of the "blinded by Big Blue sunglasses" type comments because its impossible to get through to those that see things from one side, but this is the third game of the season and to think that this Louisville team will not play any better the remainder of the year is somewhat of a slant.  Actually I have been waiting for that follow up comment of "well we are their Super Bowl" nonsense.

Now, if you ask me which team might improve more by years end I may lean towards UK only because of the injury to Lowe in the preseason and him not having a whole lot of time on the floor yet this season and not having Jayden Quaintance.  
If I were a UK fan I would be concerned about the defense against the drive and Oweh has to pick it up.  If I were a UL fan my first thought is where did Rooths go and is he only going to be good against bad teams, and I would be wondering if Pryor can contribute more as the season progresses. My concern if I am a UL fan is can the Cards continue to play at the speed they did and only have minimal turnovers like they did last night? If that is the case then they have a huge ceiling.  The flip side of that is, is that a by product of UK not forcing turnovers much like last season....

 

Let’s just see how it plays out!! 

4 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

What specific elements of the game do you think Louisville played their best possible game?

20 assists and only 6 turnovers is unsustainable, let me know the next game that happens in vs quality competition please!

4 hours ago, cincyswords said:

I usually try and stay out of the "blinded by Big Blue sunglasses" type comments because its impossible to get through to those that see things from one side, but this is the third game of the season and to think that this Louisville team will not play any better the remainder of the year is somewhat of a slant.  Actually I have been waiting for that follow up comment of "well we are their Super Bowl" nonsense.

Now, if you ask me which team might improve more by years end I may lean towards UK only because of the injury to Lowe in the preseason and him not having a whole lot of time on the floor yet this season and not having Jayden Quaintance.  
If I were a UK fan I would be concerned about the defense against the drive and Oweh has to pick it up.  If I were a UL fan my first thought is where did Rooths go and is he only going to be good against bad teams, and I would be wondering if Pryor can contribute more as the season progresses. My concern if I am a UL fan is can the Cards continue to play at the speed they did and only have minimal turnovers like they did last night? If that is the case then they have a huge ceiling.  The flip side of that is, is that a by product of UK not forcing turnovers much like last season....

 

This Ky fan isn’t the least bit concerned about the defensive effort last night as that will improve tremendously under Pope, other facets of their game will also improve and that being free throw shooting and turnover ratio to name a few, Louisville has a very nice team that played exceptionally well last evening, just can’t see that consistency throughout the remainder of the season.

37 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

20 assists and only 6 turnovers is unsustainable, let me know the next game that happens in vs quality competition please!

So is your point UK laid an egg that allowed UL to get those stats?

34 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

This Ky fan isn’t the least bit concerned about the defensive effort last night as that will improve tremendously under Pope, other facets of their game will also improve and that being free throw shooting and turnover ratio to name a few, Louisville has a very nice team that played exceptionally well last evening, just can’t see that consistency throughout the remainder of the season.

No issue with your thoughts on UK.   I just think you are trying to down play Louisville.    Obviously every game cannot be played like that but they showed they have the ability to really play at a high level.  
 

Kentucky also showed some very high level play in spurts.   Especially that 8 min stretch in the second half.  What was shocking was the lineup that did that.  

1 hour ago, nikeman49 said:

20 assists and only 6 turnovers is unsustainable, let me know the next game that happens in vs quality competition please!

So that’s it? that's why you think they played their best possible game?