As hard as Kentucky coach John Calipari and his players are trying to focus on their own business in this NCAA tournament, this one might be hard to ignore: Louisville advanced to the Final Four with a win over Florida early Saturday evening.
That means if No. 1-seed Kentucky defeats No. 3-seed Baylor on Sunday, the two rivals will meet Saturday in the Final Four in New Orleans.
It’s been 28 years since the two in-state rivals met in the NCAA tournament, and they’ve never played each other in a Final Four. They’ve also not met in the NCAA tournament with former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino patrolling the Louisville sideline.
Oh the possibilities.
The two schools have split four NCAA tournament games in their history. The last two came in 1983 and 1984. Kentucky beat Louisville 72-67 in the regional semifinals in 1984 in Lexington. That was the year after Kentucky lost to Louisville 80-68 in overtime in the regional final in Knoxville.
The Wildcats have won seven of 11 games against Louisville since Pitino joined the Cardinals’ staff in 2001, including a 69-62 win Dec. 31.
Davis vs. King James
The NBA draft is three months away, but Kentucky standout Anthony Davis already knows a thing or two about how he stacks up against the NBA’s best.
The 6-foot-10 freshman, projected to go No. 1 overall, matched against LeBron James at some pickup games in Lexington last summer during the NBA lockout. James came along with former Kentucky players DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) and Nazr Mohammed (Thunder).
“Did good,” said Davis, when asked for his assessment. “I don’t think I blocked a shot, but I think I made him get the ball out of his hands [and pass to a teammate].”
Davis actually played guard in high school. Only after he grew eight inches between his junior and senior years did it become obvious he was headed for the post. It cost his parents along the way, who not only had to keep Davis in clothes and shoes, but purchased SUVs and a king-size, extra-long bed.
“My feet were hanging out of the bed,” Davis said. “I really owe them a lot of money.”
Teague and Teague
Talk about convenience. Shortly after Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague started his game against Indiana on Friday night at the Georgia Dome, his brother Jeff Teague finished his game with the Hawks across the street at Philips Arena.
Marquis Teague scored 14 points and dished out seven assists to go with only two turnovers in 36 minutes for the Wildcats. Jeff Teague scored 17 points, with six assists and three turnovers in 40 minutes in a win over the Nets. Together the Teagues missed one free throw (Jeff was 6-for-7 and Marquis was 6-for-6.)
Marquis Teague said his family was able to watch most of the Hawks game, which started two hours earlier, before getting over to the Dome for the start of Kentucky-Indiana. He said he expected to visit with his brother after Kentucky’s practice Saturday afternoon.
History lesson
Kentucky is 6-0 all-time against Baylor, winning by an average margin of 29.8 points. If the Wildcats win Sunday, they would move to 36-2 on the season, matching the 1948 national championship team in wins. That team was 36-3 after defeating Baylor in the 1948 title game at Madison Square Garden. The two teams haven’t met since 1979.
About the Author
