Handling success: How will UK follow huge win in road opener against rival?

If you’re a procrastinator and still need to wrap up some Christmas shopping, tonight may just be the best time to do so.

That is, if you’re not a Kentucky or Louisville fan.

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Commonwealth will pause as Kentucky and Louisville meet once again in what some would call the greatest rivalry in all of college basketball.

Despite the ESPN love affair with Duke and North Carolina, some pundits (including some within the ESPN family) would argue that Kentucky and Louisville is the sport's best and most heated rivalry.

You know the drill: Two schools, 83 miles apart. Pitino and Calipari. Blue against Red. Wildcats versus Cardinals.

It doesn’t get much better than the annual battle on the hardwood between these two schools to decide who reigns supreme in a state that prides itself on the best basketball in the country.

Despite the fact that this year’s matchup has lacked the hype of recent games between the two – thank you schedulers for a Wednesday night tilt – there is no shortage of storylines as tipoff approaches.

Of course Calipari versus Pitino is its own storyline and the two fanbases certainly hate each other. You’ll also read articles debating if Louisville can and/or will try to run with Kentucky.

But perhaps the greatest lesson we’ll learn about this young Cats team is how they respond after the high of a massive victory in Las Vegas.

We’ve already seen how Kentucky responds after a tough loss, but how will another group of freshman handle the moment after one of the biggest regular season wins in recent memory.

It’s tough enough to come out after a performance like Kentucky had on Saturday, but perhaps even more challenging when your biggest rival awaits on the other side.

“We just gotta come out and play, basically,” Dominque Hawkins said during Tuesday’s availability with the media. “We gotta come together as a group and say, ‘Let’s take it one game at a time,’ just like we did with North Carolina."

There’s no question that Calipari will lean on guys with experience, like Hawkins and Derek Willis, to guide the freshman as they head into tonight’s game.

The mantra from the Cats at Tuesday’s media session was that this is just another game for them.

For Hawkins, the veteran of the group, it was no different.

“I really haven’t told them much about it because I expect them just to know it’s another game for them, and hopefully they can perform at a top level,” Richmond, Kentucky native said.

Derek Willis echoed those statements yesterday, as did Malik Monk. Of course, many are wondering how Malik Monk will perform after Saturday’s record breaking performance.

Monk has been receiving national attention and praise from the likes of Draymond Green in the NBA, but the freshman is trying to keep an even perspective.

“It’s been crazy. I’m just trying to stay levelheaded and stay focused on Louisville,” Monk said.

While some Kentucky fans may be worried that Monk may be prime for a letdown, consider this – Monk has played his two best games of the season on the biggest stage, against Michigan State in Madison Square Garden, and Saturday in the most watched regular season college basketball game in two seasons.

Also, if history is any indication, Calipari won’t allow his team to come out flat on Wednesday. After all, Calipari has been a dominating 8-1 against Pitino since arriving at Kentucky.

Wednesday night’s game is sure to be a dandy. It’s Kentucky and Louisville. For at least Kentucky and Louisville fans, and perhaps a growing number of others, it’s the greatest rivalry in college basketball. And this year, at least for Wildcat fans, the game is more about Kentucky winning than Louisville losing.