Kentucky

Louisville narrowly avoids disaster against Eastern Kentucky

Published

12 months ago

December 28, 2024

Louisville narrowly avoids disaster against Eastern Kentucky

Noah Waterman’s driving layup with 1.2 seconds to play helped Louisville avoid what would have been a catastrophic loss to Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon inside the KFC Yum Center.

Trailing by one in the closing moments, U of L forced Colonels star Devontae Blanton into a missed jumper. Reyne Smith then took off up the left side of the floor, where he nearly lost the ball before finding Waterman, who nearly lost the ball as well. After regaining his footing, Waterman drove to the rim for a contested bucket that would give the Cardinals a 1-point lead.

A steal and a free-throw by Terrence Edwards would set the game’s score at its final margin.

The end-of-game sequence allowed the Cardinals to avoid what would have been a crippling defeat in game they were favored to win by 21.5 points. Instead, they’ll enter the New Year with an 8-5 record and only losses to quality opponents on their resume.

Still, the fact that Louisville couldn’t put away an EKU team that nearly knocked the Cardinals off for the first time since 1963 was more than a little unnerving.

After knocking down nine three-pointers in the first half, U of L could manage just two makes from deep in the second frame. The most important of those came from Smith, whose three with just under two minutes to play put the Cards ahead, 75-73. EKU’s George Kimble, who finished with a game-high 24 points, promptly answered with a three of his own to set up the game’s frantic final moments.

I don’t know if it was the holiday break or what, but the energy was down, the defense was downright bad, and the head-scratching unforced turnovers were back.

We are extremely fortunate that this wasn’t a Quad 4 loss that would have completely tanked our resume right before we begin our dive into the heart of conference play.

The most crucial two week stretch of the season — one which features games against North Carolina, Virginia, Pitt and Clemson — is now upon us. Handle it well, and we can dream March Madness dreams as we go deeper into January and February. Handle it the way we handled things today, and the season shifts to “keep fighting, see how many wins we can scrap together, and maybe we can pull off a crazy run in Charlotte” mode.

Source link

Related Topics:against avoids card Chronicle Disaster Eastern Featured front page kentucky louisville narrowly

Click to comment

Kentucky

Maverick McIvor rallies Western Kentucky to a New Orleans Bowl victory, beating Southern Miss 27-16

Published

1 hour ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Maverick McIvor rallies Western Kentucky to a New Orleans Bowl victory, beating Southern Miss 27-16

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Quarterback Maverick McIvor came off the bench to lead three second-half touchdown drives and Western Kentucky rallied to beat Southern Mississippi 27-16 on Tuesday night to win the New Orleans Bowl at Caesars Superdome.

Source link

Kentucky

Kentucky Basketball defeats Bellarmine: 3 things to know and postgame cheers

Published

13 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky Basketball defeats Bellarmine: 3 things to know and postgame cheers

The Kentucky Wildcats will head off into the Christmas break on a winning streak after defeating Bellarmine by a final score of 99-85.

In a game Kentucky was favored to win by 35.5 points, the Knights came out strong and stayed within striking distance much of the way.

Thankfully, big days by Kam Williams (26 points) and Mo Dioubate (20) helped the Cats get to the finish line for win No. 9.

Otega Oweh flirted with a triple-double, going for 10 points, 10 assists, and eight boards.

Jaland Lowe sat out this game as Kentucky manages his shoulder injury, while Jayden Quaintance played just eight minutes as he continues to improve his conditioning following a nine-month layoff from ACL surgery.

Here’s what you need to know from Kentucky’s final game of 2025.

Kam Williams stole the show

Kentucky may have beaten Bellarmine by 14, but this game didn’t start like a runaway. It started like exactly what it was: a 1 p.m. Tuesday tip right before Christmas, with Kentucky taking a while to find its legs.

If you’re naming an MVP, it’s Kam Williams, no debate.

He buried 8 of his 10 3s and finished with 26 points, giving Kentucky the exact kind of perimeter punch that changes how defenses have to play them. Kentucky has been searching for a dependable shooter to emerge, and this was the loudest answer they’ve had in a while.

Bellarmine never let Kentucky run away

Kentucky led 46-38 at halftime, but Bellarmine made it work early by shooting well and living at the line.

Bellarmine shot 52% in the first half and went 10-for-10 on free throws. Kentucky shot even better (55%) and hit 7 threes, but the Knights were annoying in the way you don’t want a midweek opponent to be.

They cut it to three late in the half, and you could feel the “are we really doing this today?” vibe for a moment.

Thankfully, Kentucky flipped the game with a much better second-half start.

The Cats came out of the locker room sharper, built the lead to 74-56 with just over 10 minutes left, and basically removed the drama, though the Knights would stay within 12-14 points down the stretch as both teams traded score for score.

Balance shows up with 10 scorers

Kentucky had 10 different players score, which is an underrated reason the second half never got weird again. Brandon Garrison is the only player who played for the Cats who didn’t score, and he didn’t attempt a shot.

On days when the start is sluggish, balance keeps you from pressing. It also keeps your rotation engaged, which matters heading into a stretch where Kentucky is going to need everyone ready to contribute.

Bellarmine deserves credit for hanging around early, including 14 first-half points from Jack Karasinski, but Kentucky’s shooting punch and depth eventually made the gap feel inevitable even though Karasinski finished with 24.

Kentucky didn’t play a perfect game. It played a winning one. And when Kam Williams shoots like that, it’s a lot easier to look like yourself.

___________________________________________________________

Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion

Source link

Kentucky

Is Kentucky basketball looking for a mid-year addition at backup point guard?

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Is Kentucky basketball looking for a mid-year addition at backup point guard?

It’s clear that this Kentucky team relies very heavily on its starting point guard, Jaland Lowe. It has been evident that when he’s out, Kentucky struggles to create any offense, but when he’s in, it couldn’t flow any smoother. A big part of that is the fact that the Wildcats don’t really have a backup point guard. Denzel Aberdeen isn’t really a true point guard, and Jasper Johnson has flashy moments through a bunch of struggles as a young freshmen. But, it all comes down to Lowe’s health, who could go out any second with his shoulder injury.

We’ve already seen it multiple times this season, in the last two games specifically. Lowe went out against Indiana during the first half, playing just 9 minutes before following it up with a 16-minute second half, when the Wildcats rallied down the stretch. Then, Saturday against Rick Pitino and St. John’s, Lowe hurt his shoulder again just seven seconds after checking into the game. He then returned early in the second half before his team rallied yet again. He’s a difference-maker, clearly, but is Mark Pope interested in adding a mid-year player through the transfer portal to back him up in case things go south? He addressed those swirling rumors on his radio show Monday night.

First of all, Pope fully expects Lowe to remain healthy, or at least continue playing through the pain. “I have every expectation Jaland is going to be with us the whole season,” Pope said. As far as a mid-year addition goes as a backup for Lowe, Pope has the utmost confidence in his guys to get it done, in particular Denzel Aberdeen and Jasper Johnson, who he says are getting more and more comfortable at that position. “We have a great roster. I’m not sure we’re shopping a lot right now,” Pope said when asked about a possible addition to the roster. “We have an unbelievable amount of faith in our guys, first of all, with Jaland. Jasper is going to grow into a starring role. He’s been so good. D.A. is becoming more and more and more comfortable becoming a full-time point, but also being on the move at the two. …I think we have an incredible, incredible run ahead of us. That’s what we’re thinking about with this roster right now.”

Well, there you have it. Mark Pope is comfortable with guys he has. He likely doesn’t want to also take the chance of interrupting the team chemistry either, especially right now as Kentucky is coming off back-to-back wins over quality opponents and as soon as they’ve gotten healthy.

Source link