by Alan Smith
I think Louisville and Kentucky fans alike knew months in advance what the 2010 matchup for the “Battle of the Bluegrass” would look like. A greasy-haired Italian coach leading a talented team on the way to contend for the national championship, against a NIT-caliber team with reeling home losses to mid-major teams and a coach in turmoil. But nobody expected a role reversal for both programs.
If we were to rewind the clocks back to March 2009 for a second, did any of us look at the 2010 season with the hope and excitement of UK contending for a national championship like we are now? Not a chance. Yet here we are, ranked third in the nation with a 14-0 record headed into the Louisville game. On the contrary, I don’t think for a second Louisville fans would think that their team would be struggling so far this season. Even though U of L has a 10-3 record, they have losses to UNLV, Charlotte, and Western Carolina, the last two having lost at home.
Lets take a step back and look at where both programs were in March of 2009: Louisville had just won the Big East Championship, and was given the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky on the other hand had just lost four games in a row to end the regular season, including an embarrassing home loss to Georgia on Senior Night. UK had also fallen off the bubble with a loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament, and they accepted a bid in the NIT as a #4 seed. Louisville lost in the Elite Eight to Michigan St. but it was the second consecutive year they had made it that far, and U of L was going into the off season with a lot of momentum, not to mention the fact that they recruited 2010 stud Jeremy Tyler. At the same time, UK fired Billy Gillispie, and an exodus of players was expected to happen, and it looked like the program was left in shambles.
And then it all happened. UK hired Coach John Calipari, who raised the level of expectations almost instantly when he arrived in Lexington. Over the next few months, he went around the state practically as a pastor, preaching a sermon to his followers about a revelation. He recruited the likes of John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe, who were the top recruits in the nation. U of L coach Rick Pitino became involved in what is now known as “Sypher-gate”, as we all know what happened there. It took focus away from UofL’s team and right at that time assistant Richard Pitino left to Florida which also seemed to have an effect on recruiting. Jeremy Tyler backed out of his commitment and decided to go pro overseas and Marquis Teague, who was expected to commit during the last few months has put U of L on hold.
Although the Cardinals would deny it, all the off season issues did have an effect on their season so far. The players have not been focused and neither has the coach, as it has obviously shown in their three losses so far. And even though UK was expected to contend this season, they have exceeded expectations. Coming into this game it was the matchup we expected, hopefully the outcome will be different from the last two seasons. We shall see Saturday what the new year has in store for the Cats and Cards.
Want more UK/Louisville stories? Check back in a few hours when Paul will take a look at the rivalry between John Calipari and Rick Pitino.
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