Geoff JohnsonOne of the biggest rivalries in college sports takes the stage when coach Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals, face coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats for a place in the college basketball final, this Saturday at 6:09 PM ET.
Louisville and Kentucky have a more than 30 year of rivalry, making this game the biggest one in the history between these two. However, there is a huge favorite in the matchups, and it wears blue.
Kentucky not only looked amazing in the first half against Baylor; they give the impression as there isn’t a team than can stop them in the rest of the tournament. “I want them to enjoy themselves,” coach Calipari, said of his players. “This is their team. I’m here just helping them. It’s not about me.”
“I got three hours’ sleep after the last game, and I had to watch like five or six tapes, had to get a practice together, had to get a shoot-around together and had to keep these guys up and in a great frame of mind.”
“It wears you out a little bit, and I’m not 35 anymore. I used to be 35, and I was really good at this. Now I’m getting older, and it’s a little harder.”
Calipari is a humble coach that knows how to take advantage of the rules. Most people don’t like him, but the truth is his team looks unstoppable on both sides of the floor.
Louisville, on the other side, showed some character against Florida in the elite eight round, but they can’t afford to get behind in the scoreboard early in the game, because, at the moment they blink, the match will be out of reach considering Kentucky is their opponent.
The other part of the rivalry is the battle and history between coach Rick Pitino and John Calipari; once part of the same program. “We don’t send each other Christmas cards,” said Pitino, about John.
The betting trends say LOUISVILLE is 8-0 ATS on a neutral court. But also, KENTUCKY is 9-1 Under on a neutral floor if the game total is 130 to 139.5, 24-1 SU in its last 25 games, and is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Louisville.
Take Kentucky to win it, but Louisville to cover the nine point spread.
