On Saturday I decided for the first time in a very long time not to attend the Louisville vs. Kentucky game in person. Instead I opted to watch it with family during our annual Christmas gathering. It was a house divided as most are in this state especially during this game. I had high expectations for our Cardinals and while they gave a valiant effort on the defensive end of the floor their poor passing and poor shooting ultimately led to their losing for the seventh time in eight games to the arch rival Cats in recent history. Not long after the game had ended I came down with one of the worst stomach viruses that I’ve ever had in my life. So to say it wasn’t a very good weekend for this Cardinal fan would be a major understatement.
As I was lying in bed as sick as I’ve ever been in my life I thought about the game and how sick Coach Pitino must be that he had just lost for a third straight time to Calipari and the Cats. And how sick he must be that his team had just lost after playing one of their best defensive games ever. But no matter how well a team plays on the defensive end of the floor they have to pass the ball and have to score points. Coming into this game the Cardinals ranked 149th overall in assist, and 151st overall in field goal percentage. A common theme in the Pitino post game press conferences this season had been about his team hunting points instead of the open man. They had one assist against Kentucky. Coach Pitino had also talked about his team making the extra pass to get the open look and the better shot. They were 15 of 58 for 25% from the filed against Kentucky. Coming into the game against the Cats the Cardinals numbers associated with assist and field goal percentage were dismal, and after this game they are disgusting. The Cardinals currently rank 207th in the nation averaging 12.3 assist a game this season, and they currently rank 217th in the nation in field goal percentage averaging 42% a game. While these numbers coupled with good defense will beat the FIU’s of the basketball world the Cardinals found out on Saturday they won’t beat the better teams in the nation.
Talk about sick.. there can’t be anyone who is as sick of losing to Kentucky as Wayne Blackshear. He lost his first game he played against the Cats in the 2011-12 Final Four by 8 points and lost his last game against them by 8 points. In total Wayne lost to Kentucky 5 times and averaged 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in the games he’s played against them. When he came down the lane and had that monster slam dunk in the Final Four game Cardinal Nation had high expectations of what was to come in this young mans career. It just hasn’t played out like that. I’ve been one of his biggest supporters, but time is running out for him to be that guy. All of his injuries and setbacks have really hurt his consistency and grit in big game situations.
Chris Jones had one of the better defensive performances of the college basketball season against Kentucky, but he may have also been one of their best defensive players. He did have the Cardinals only assist in the game but he also threw up 24 of their 73 total shots. Not great numbers for a point guard. He is one of the best on ball defenders in college basketball but until he learns to share and make better decisions with the ball that won’t mean much big picture. During his Juco days Chris averaged over 4 assist a game and was always making the big play for his team. Sure would like to see that version of him during the next two months.
Other than a great defensive effort for 36 minutes of the game there really wasn’t much to get excited about with the Cardinals performance on Saturday. Terry and Montrezl played hard and got their share of rebounds and points but even they could have played better from a team perspective. I was impressed with how Shaqquan Aaron looked coming off the bench. He wasn’t intimidated by the Kentucky size or talent and went right at them. He is going to be very good and will get more chances at the Cats.
The battle was lost on Saturday and I know every Cardinal fan felt the same way I did all weekend minus the stomach virus. While frustrated about being 1-7 recently to our rivals just remember Cardinal fans that we are headed into the exciting new challenge of the ACC, still have a great team and still have an excellent program. The battle has been lost for now, but the Cardinal fight lives on. It is still December and we have one of the best Coaches in college basketball. He knows what needs to be done and has told us from day one what this team lacks. He will get it fixed. And as I learned over the weekend.. Family and health are some of the most important things in this life and when it all comes down to it basketball is just a game.