JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. In a strange plot twist that only sports can provide at times, this will go down in UK lore as "The Lamont Butler Game." On Friday, we had no idea if the Wildcats' point guard and undisputed leader would be able to return from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for the last two games. Not only did he return, he completely took over the game, scoring 33 points on a perfect shooting night from the field: 10-of-10 from the field, 6-of-6 from the arc. He dished out six assists for good measure.

2. Kentucky shot 58.2% against a really aggressive, physical Louisville defense today. The Cardinals did everything they could to bump, grab, and nudge the Cats off the motions they were running, but it had little impact. UK shot a ridiculous 70% from the field in the first half. They're still not shooting as many 3-pointers as Mark Pope would like to see, but they knocked down 11 of 21 for 52.4% It was just a terrific offensive performance.

3. Really impressed by new Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey. His guys were a bit short-handed today, but he still had them ready to battle in a tough environment at Rupp Arena. It seemed like every time these teams came out of a timeout, the Cards got a bucket or a good look to stem the Cats' momentum. That's a sign of good coaching. This rivalry appears to be in good hands for the future.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Louisville played a really good game. For years we've been accustomed to the Cards not rising to the occasion in this game. Not tonight. They hit contested shots, played physical on defense, and didn't back down. They were good competition for Kentucky.

2. Kentucky shot the eyes out of the ball. That hasn't happened frequently, of late, but UK was over 50% from 3-point range and 58% from the floor overall. They leveraged a size advantage, got to the rim, and just generally shot very well overall. They're going to be very hard to beat if they shoot like that.

5. Lamont Butler - what can you really say here except wow? You didn't recruit him expecting him to score 30 points against Louisville but he was their guy today. Butler is tough and handled that physicality of the Cards very well. He was great cutting to the rim and made the Cards pay for leaving him open from the outside.

DAVID SISK:

1. This was a higher-scoring game than I expected, but I thought it would be a contested rivalry game. The reason is I think both teams have their guy at the head coaching position. I don’t expect either one of these coaches to have their team lie down. I have no reason to believe we won’t see more of this in one of college basketball’s great feuds. Having said that, Kentucky closed again in a competitive game. The more they do that successfully the more confidence they will have in the rugged SEC.

2. Kentucky didn’t guard as well for the entire game as usual, but Louisville shot the 3-ball much better than usual. The 27% outside shooting team shot 36% today. That accounted for 12 more points for the Cardinals. They shot 39 for the game. When a team shoots that many 3-pointers and makes that group can be extremely dangerous.

3. Thank goodness for Lamont Butler. I also missed the boat here when I said it wasn’t life or death that he returned from injury. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Forgive me for mentioning No. 32 at Duke who shall not be named, but if he would have made all of his foul shots he would have had that type of showing where he shot 59. Butler had 33 points, a perfect 10-10 from the field, 6-6 from three, and he had six assists. Welcome back young man.