Three Storylines to Watch as Kentucky Enters Rivalry Tilt Against Louisville

Can Kentucky find toughness for the first time this season in a home game against its rival? If not then, when?

The Kentucky-Louisville basketball rivalry is getting renewed inside Rupp Arena at noon EST on New Year's Eve, yet there's little to no intrigue. 

Longtime UK assistant and new Louisville coach Kenny Payne is making his return to Lexington, but all Big Blue Nation and the Cardinal faithful can find to talk about is how disappointing this season has been for both teams. 

The Cards are 2-11, making the 2022-23 season already one of the more appalling in recent memory, even given all of the circumstances that have surrounded that program over the past few years. Kentucky is 8-4, but each and every loss has packed a punch, rapidly lowering expectations for what was thought to be a National Championship contender in the preseason. 

Both Payne and UK coach John Calipari understand what it means when these two teams go head-to-head. This is no ordinary game...at least usually. Now, this game feels below usual, so much so that BBN is much more invested in its football team taking part in the Music City Bowl against 7-5 Iowa, which kicks off at the exact same time as the basketball showdown. 

Kentucky is favored by 22.5 points, though it hasn't won a game by that margin or more since before Thanksgiving. The hype is astronomically low, but it's still a very important game for the Wildcats. 

Lose this one, and the sky will officially be falling. Here are three storylines to watch as Calipari and the Cats scratch and claw for any inkling of momentum moving into 2023: 

More Adou Thiero? 

After Kentucky's 88-68 win over Florida A&M, Calipari was adamant that true freshman forward Adou Thiero's time was coming. He wasn't sure when, but he said that the Leetsdale, Pennsylvania product will have a "huge impact on college basketball." 

Fast forward to the Cats' clobbering in Columbia at the hands of the Missouri Tigers, and Thiero was getting his chance to shine. Sure, it didn't come under the best circumstances, but a chance is a chance. For the most part, he took it. 

In 17 second half minutes, he compiled five points, two rebounds and an assist. He was the only Cat to finish the game with a positive plus-minus on Wednesday. It wasn't an astounding performance by any stretch of the word, but he provided some sort of spark for UK, even if it only lasted a few minutes. 

So will he get more run against Louisville? If things go the way that a 22.5-point spread would suggest, one may think that Thiero will get more than his fair share of minutes. Calipari has become known to say one thing and then do another, so even when he says that Thiero is earning his reps, it's hard to believe it until you see it on the floor. 

Shooting guard CJ Fredrick is expected to miss some time due to a dislocated finger, meaning Thiero's spot in the depth chart is bumped up by one, at least. Bottom line, he should get some tick against Louisville. Will he? That's to be determined.  

Will Kentucky's defense bounce back? 

Mizzou entered the game averaging nearly 89 points-per-game, and that's just the number that it got to in its win over the Cats. The game plan worked beyond well, as transition 3-pointers fell left and right, while easy looks began to form under the basket in the second half. 

Louisville's 61.4 PPG is a far cry from the Tigers, so Saturday should be a nice chance for UK to bounce back on that side of the basketball. UofL has scored more than 70 points just twice, including five games against Power Five opponents in which it couldn't reach 60. 

Senior guard El Ellis — who averages 17.1 PPG and 4.3 assists-per-game — will try and cause problems for Kentucky, but there is a steep drop-off in offensive talent afterward. As not fun as the Wildcats have been to watch for most of this season, the Cards have been arguably worse. Fun brands of basketball are not being set on display in Rupp this weekend. 

If Kentucky is going to have anything to brag about heading into the new year, it should be on the defensive end. Look for the Cats to succeed more than usual against a vapid UofL style. 

Will the toughness finally show up? 

When looking at Kentucky basketball this season, there is a clear lack of toughness and energy. There is no spark plug player, there is no emotion when things are going good or bad, there is simply mediocre basketball being played. 

When will that change, and who is going to be the catalyst? There cannot be any expectations for things to change if the Wildcats don't make it abundantly clear that there is another level in the team that is yet to be unlocked. 

All of the excuses and "tweaks" and working things out is fine when you can see the clear heartfelt effort oozing on the court. Through one third of the regular season, it's very clear that that's nowhere to be found for Calipari's group. 

It's okay to assume that progression will happen at some point, but how can a team expect to do so if they can't fight through a tad bit of adversity every once in a while? There are some mental hurdles that obviously still need to be jumped.

Calipari said this when speaking to reporters on Friday: 

“The other side is off the court, the mind stuff, which is, this is not life and death. It seems that way because we play at Kentucky and coach here, but it’s not life and death. And that you’ve got to play with confidence. Fall back. You’ve been doing this since you were eight years old. Play with courage, meaning you trust each other. Play fearless; it means you talk to one another."

There is a clear-cut chance for Kentucky to lay the smackdown on its rival in front of a home crowd. How often can one say such a thing? If that doesn't get the juices flowing, then i'm not sure what will.

Whether it's Jacob Toppin, Sahvir Wheeler, or any other veteran on the roster, somebody has to take charge. That critical first step can be made on Saturday afternoon. 

Tip-off between UK and Louisville is set for noon EST and will air on CBS Sports. 

More on Kentucky's loss to Mizzou here.

More on John Calipari's postgame comments here.

Game notes from the loss can be found here.

The latest on CJ Fredrick here.

Shelton's latest column on the Wildcats can be found here.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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