I didn’t think I could be happier with Kentucky‘s exhibition win over No. 1 Purdue, and then I saw what Louisville did at the Yum! Center tonight. It’s euphoric, really, soaking up the Boilermaker tears, only to double up with Cardinal waterworks, too.
So much trash talk with nothing to show for it, an entire offseason joking about Pope Whiffs and Mikel Brown over Jasper Johnson and something called a Fru — still not quite sure what that one is — only to stink up the place at home against No. 19 Kansas.
33.3 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from three. Thank goodness for those 29 made free throws, because it probably could’ve been uglier than the eight-point loss suggests. The Jayhawks led essentially the entire game (36:25) and by as many as 18 points while Darryn Peterson looked like a contender for the No. 1 overall pick, dropping 26 points on 9-15 shooting and 6-10 from three with five steals, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
Louisville’s Ryan Conwell went for 26, too, but it took 21 shots and 12 free throw attempts to get there. Oops! Brown joined him as a double-figure scorer, but also shot a tour date on February 15 (2-15) while going 2-10 from deep. That Fru guy? One point in 18 minutes. Aly Khalifa? The same number of turnovers as points (five). J’Vonne Hadley — a returning player from Pat Kelsey’s first UL team, not even one of the alleged superstar additions this offseason — was the only guy to step up for the Cards, adding 13 points on an efficient 4-4 shooting and 2-2 from three with nine rebounds in 30 minutes. Somebody’s got to around there, right?
It’d be different if fans were humble as the preseason No. 11 team in the country, but my goodness, you’d think they were the ’96 Bulls the way they talked all spring, summer and early fall. Remember when they went crazy over Mikel Brown’s dunk on Malachi Moreno at USA training camp, acting like that meant anything about either of their abilities? And laughed at Kentucky’s Blue-White Game? POINT GUARD U?!?!? Embarrassing, all of it.
November 11 can’t get here fast enough, my goodness. All of the reality checks for little brother, please.
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