Louisville Holds Off Kentucky to Win Battle of the Bluegrass

Nov 11, 2025.

Matthew McGavic | Photo of Adrian Wooley, Otege Oweh: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images

Photo of Adrian Wooley, Otege Oweh: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) drives to the basket against Louisville Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley (14) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Nov 11, 2025:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the first time in four years, the Battle of the Bluegrass belongs to the Louisville men's basketball program.

Hosting Kentucky for their annual matchup against their arch rival, the Cardinals were able to hold off and take down the Wildcats in the top-15 ranked showdown, earning a 96-88 victory on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

The No. 12 Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 ACC) led by as much as 20 in the second half, but the No. 9 Wildcats (2-1, 0-0 SEC) whittled their advantage down to as little as four points with under four minutes to go.

Despite going 4-of-11 from the free throw line in the final three minutes, Louisville made two of their final three shots - one each from star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. and Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell - while simultaneously locking down defensively and holding Kentucky to 1-of-5 from the floor.

Second-year head coach Pat Kelsey earns his first win against Kentucky after UofL dropped a 93-85 decision in Rupp Area last season. Louisville also snaps a three-game losing streak to UK, with their last win coming back on Dec. 26, 2020.

Brown and Conwell led the way for the Cardinals, with the latter scoring a game-high 29 points plus five assists, and the former right behind him with 24 points. Sananda Fru was the only other Card to finish in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds, but also finished with a team-best plus-11 defensive plus/minus.

J'Vonne Hadley, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooley all nearly reached double figures, with each scoring nine points. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats in scoring with 26 points.

While UK (47.1percent) out-shot UofL (44.9 percent) from the floor, the difference in the game was Louisville ability ball handling, ball pressure, and the ability to get to the free throw line.

The Cardinals assisted on 20 of their 31 made field goals while committing just six turnovers, while forcing the Wildcats to have as many assists as they did turnovers (14) - with 19 points off turnovers going in favor of UofL. And even with the cold stretch at the charity stripe down the strech, Louisville still went 21-of-31 here, compared to 12-of-16 from Kentucky.

Both teams spent the first two segments of the game trading barbs. While Louisville shot 6-of-15 to start out compared to Kentucky's 9-of-14, the Cardinals countered with great play on the ball and ball movement overall. They forced four Wildcats turnovers in the first eight minutes (and seven in the first half), while not committing their first until the final few minutes of the half.

Around the 12-minute mark, UofL looked like they might blow the doors off of UK.

After Kentucky took a 22-19 lead, the Cards put together a stretch where they shot 11-of-15 while holding the 'Cats to a paltry 1-of-15. Thaks to their prowess on both ends of the floor, it resulted in a 27-13 run to lead by 18 with 4:38 left in the first half.

UK was able to to chip into their deficit prior to halftime, making seven of their final eight shots of the period while also holding UofL to 2-of-7 in the final segment. Still, that was still enough for the home squad to go up 53-46 at the break.

In the first eight minutes of the second half, it seemed like Louisville might cruise to a blowout victory. They opened the half shooting 4-of-5 while find early success at the free throw line, and held Kentucky to 4-of-11 to start the period, extending their lead out to 20 points with 12:24 left in the game.

The Cardinals snap a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

After the quick shooting spurt to open the half, the Cardinals all of a sudden went ice cold from the field, connecting on just six of their next 24 attempts. They started relying too much on ISO ball, while threes were also not falling at the rate they previously were.

Add in the fact that UK followed up their own cold spurt with a 10-of-17 shooting stretch, and UofL's advantage shrank to just four points with 3:35 left in the game.

Next up, Louisville will cap off their four-game home stand to open upthe 2025-26 season with a matchup against Ohio. Tip-off against the Bobcats is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

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