Louisville lost 71-58 against Kentucky in the annual Battle of the Bluegrass Saturday. Here are 3 things you need to know.
1. Herro's the Hero
This game has the ability to create legends (Sparks, Harrelson, Sosa, etc...) and Tyler Herro is the latest in that line of Card-killing Kentucky players.
Herro hit 10 of 13 shots including 4 of 6 three-point shots. He had five rebounds and was a matchup problem all day against Louisville.
Herro played more minutes than any other UK payer and was the key factor in Kentucky's win. Louisville never quite figured out how to play him.
2. Bricks Aplenty
Louisville had a pair of players who hit shots - Christen Cunningham and Jordan Nwora - but the majority of team couldn't hit. The Cardinals finished hitting just 36 percent for the game and just 25 percent from three-point range.
It gets even worse when you take Cunningham's 8 of 14 shooting performance out of the totals. And even worse when you remove Nwora's 7 of 17. The rest of the team was 5 of 21.
"I just don't think we played very well, especially offensively," Louisville coach Chris Mack said.
CC was 3 of 5 from three-point range. The rest of the team was 2 of 15.
3. Points in the Paint
Kentucky dominated the points in the paint 42-22. It is tough to win any game when you lose the paint by 20 points.
The rebounding battle was fairly close, but there were a couple of points in the game when a Louisville defensive rebound could have turned the tide.
Mack said he felt like the third four-minute segment was a killer for his squad. One play in particular stuck in his craw. Jemarl Baker his a three on Kentucky's third shot in a possession.
"They punked us in that four minute span and then we were down 10 points the rest of the game," Mack said.
