The holiday college basketball slate is highlighted by the Louisville vs. Kentucky rivalry matchup. Here are key storylines for that showdown.
Louisville and Kentucky will meet on Saturday in the latest edition of one of NCAA basketball‘s most intense rivalries with plenty on the line for both teams.
The Wildcats have won each of the last two meetings and have had a leg up in the rivalry recently, yet this game might be more important to their season.
Kentucky is coming off of back-to-back non-conference losses for the first time in a long while after dropping games against both Utah and Ohio State last week. They’re now just 8-3, have dropped to No. 19 in the rankings, and only have one win against a team ranked in the KenPom top 100 (Michigan State). They clearly have some issues they need to work out (more on that next) and they need to do it sooner rather than later if they want to avoid a three-game losing streak going into conference play.
Louisville does have an impressive win over Michigan on their resume, yet they suffered their first loss to the season in their last notable game against Texas Tech. The Cardinals have cruised against Eastern Kentucky and Miami (OH) since, but Kentucky serves as the first real test that will tel us if they’ve fixed the problems that arose against the Red Raiders.
So, what are the key storylines worth watching in this matchup? Here are the three biggest ones to follow.