LEXINGTON, Ky. — By the time the 2025-26 renewal of the Kentucky-Louisville men’s basketball Armageddon tipped off Tuesday night, the pent-up desire among U of L backers for a victory over UK was boiling.

A raucous crowd of 22,586 — the first Louisville men’s basketball sellout since March, 4, 2017 — filled the KFC Yum Center.

So keen was the belief among U of L backers that Pat Kelsey’s second Cardinals team was going to break through against their intrastate archrival that Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, the former Louisville hoops great, traveled via private plane to be on hand for Cats-Cards.

For much of the night, Kelsey’s Cards, led by wunderkind freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. (29 points) and well-traveled wing scorer Ryan Conwell (24 points in his third game for his fourth college team), gave the Yum Center crowd what it was starved to see.

When Brown cashed a pair of free throws with 12:24 left in the game, No. 12 U of L led No. 9 UK 78-58 — and the party inside the Yum Center was rocking.

The festivities began to lose some steam, however, when UK uncorked a 26-10 run to pull within 88-84 with 4:02 left in the game.

With the “Oh no, here we go again” feeling spreading throughout the Yum, Brown stepped up to score five straight points for U of L. In so doing, the freshman star propelled the Cardinals to only their fourth win in their past 18 games against the Wildcats with a 96-88 victory.

Since he arrived in the commonwealth, Kelsey has repeatedly stated that it was incumbent on U of L to do its part to make Kentucky-Louisville “a rivalry” by winning more often against the Cats.

“It ceases to be a rivalry unless you win one every once in a while,” Kelsey said afterward. “I said that because I meant it, and we were able to get one tonight.”

In evaluating what was a disappointing showing by Kentucky, it is good to keep this in mind: This season’s way-too-early Cats-Cards was played on Nov. 11, 2025.

The NCAA tournament will start with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, on March 17, 2026.

If it weren’t so early, Kentucky backers would have some things to worry about.

The concern about the second UK roster of the Mark Pope coaching era is that it lacks the proven offensive skill that characterized the Kentucky coach’s initial Wildcats team.

However, the current Cats were thought to have been recruited to provide the defense, rebounding and toughness that last season’s offensive-oriented Wildcats sometimes lacked.

In that context, it was worrisome how easily Louisville’s Brown and Conwell were able to get downhill versus the Kentucky defense.

“We did a poor job in transition,” Pope said. “We kind of lost the discipline of our defensive principles, which was incredibly disappointing.”

Kentucky won the rebounding against Louisville, but barely (42-40).

In the contest of offensive skill, UK turned the ball over 14 times to U of L’s six. The Cardinals assisted on 20 made field goals, the Wildcats on only 14 of their 32.

“We’re going to lose the 20/6 (vs.) 14/14 (contrast),” Pope said. “It’s a credit (to Louisville) for playing the game the right way. We got punishment for not playing in the right way.”

Kentucky backers have not had a lot of recent experience with taking an “L” in our state’s most-galvanizing college hoops rivalry. Historically, the standard operating procedure for the fan base that loses the UK-U of L regular-season contest is to hope for a second shot in March Madness.

If that happens, U of L’s Brown Jr. will still be the most talented player in the game.

But there is every reason to think Kentucky would get a better showing from standout senior guard Otega Oweh than it did Tuesday night. The Newark, N.J., product had a rough go in The Ville, missing nine of his 13 shots, five of his six 3-point attempts and turning the ball over five times.

Oweh finished a team-worst minus-16 on UK’s plus-minus chart.

There’s also reason to think that Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe, the Pittsburgh transfer who was only in his second game with the Wildcats after returning from a shoulder injury, will play more efficiently once he has more familiarity with the team he is tasked to lead.

Lowe had nine points and five assists vs. U of L, but shot only 2 for 8 on field-goal attempts and turned the ball over three times.

Finally, by March, Pope will almost certainly have a better feel for how to deploy his deep roster.

Kentucky’s big second-half run coincided with the UK coach inserting Tulane transfer Kam Williams into the game for the first time. The 6-9 Williams had five points and four rebounds in 12 minutes and was a team-best plus-11 in his time on the court.

Overall, “I was just disappointed with the product we put on the floor,” Pope said.

Like I said, if it weren’t so early, Kentucky fans would have some worries.

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