Within the final 65 seconds of play Saturday at the Yum! Center, Kentucky had multiple chances to bury its stunning five-game losing streak and get its season back on the right track against arch-rival Louisville.
The Wildcats missed at every opportunity.
Louisville survived three missed shots by Kentucky in the final 20 seconds of play and cashed in on three of four free throws to claim a hard-fought 62-59 win over the Cats.
It marked UK's sixth straight loss since opening the season with a blowout win over Morehead State. That's the longest losing streak for the program since the 1988-89 season and is tied for the second longest skid in school history. The 1923 team lost nine in a row.
"We had our chances to win," UK coach John Calipari said. "... They're trying. They're getting better. We're doing some good stuff. But losing stinks. Just stinks, and we've got to right the ship at some point."
"None of us could have imagined this," UK graduate transfer guard Davion Mintz said. "We just gotta keep fighting. At this point, you kind of throw away the record in our minds and just go play basketball."
Kentucky's offensive woes came back to haunt the Cats once again. UK shot 34% (20 of 58) from the field, missed eight of its 22 free-throw attempts, and went 5-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The Cats led 34-30 early in the second half but suffered through a 7:49 stretch without a bucket that saw Louisville surge ahead by as many as seven points.
During the decisive final 1:05, Kentucky saw:
* Isaiah Jackson go 1-for-2 at the free-throw line and miss a mid-range jumper.
* Devin Askew miss badly on a 3-point shot at the end of the shot clock, a play that was magnified by Jackson fouling out on the scramble for the loose-ball rebound.
* A player who has not made a field goal in the last two games, 7-foot center Olivier Sarr, take the potential game-winner with five seconds remaining. The shot teased the crowd by dancing on the rim momentarily before bouncing away.
* And, finally, with a chance to tie at the buzzer, put the ball in the hands of a player, freshman guard B.J. Boston, who is shooting 15.6% from 3-point range this season.
Mintz, who led UK with 19 points and made a pair of key 3-pointers late in the second half to keep the Cats in the game, did not attempt a shot in the final 4:40.
Louisville (6-1) won for just the third time in 14 matchups against a UK team coached Calipari.
The Cardinals were led by the backcourt duo of Carlik Jones and David Johnson, who scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. They won despite shooting 42% from the field, going 6-of-20 from the arc, and getting outrebounded 40-35.
*****
RAPID RECAP:
The three players Kentucky regarded as its best talents heading into the season -- 5-star recruits B.J. Boston and Terrence Clarke and All-ACC transfer center Olivier Sarr -- combined to score 12 points on 3-for-19 shooting. Neither Sarr nor Clarke made a bucket. Sarr has not put the ball in the basket in either of the last two games. The so-called role players have done their best to keep the Cats in these games, but they're not getting over the hump without some help from their most talented players.
GAME BALL:
Carlik Jones, Louisville -- The Cards' graduate transfer guard came up big down the stretch, scoring nine of his team-high 20 points in the final 6:24.
KEY STAT:
Kentucky's Olivier Sarr, who UK coach John Calipari later claimed was the focus of the Cats' offensive gameplan heading into the matchup, went 0-for-4 from the field and scored just one point on a free throw with 4:57 remaining. Sarr scored 16 points for Wake Forest in his last meeting with Louisville.
QUOTABLE:
"Now, all of the sudden, you get punched in the mouth and start tasting blood. How do you react?" -- UK coach John Calipari
UP NEXT:
Kentucky's SEC opener against South Carolina has been postponed due to Covid-19 testing with the Gamecocks, so the Cats will not play again until Saturday, Jan. 2, at Mississippi State.
