John Clay's Sidelines

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Louisville will win a frenzied game over Kentucky, writes Jay Bilas at espn.com.

Rakeem Buckles’ absence will hurt, but the Cardinals are a deeper, play more people and will force the tempo that they want, rather than the tempo that Kentucky wants to play at. Louisville is a blue-collar, no-ego team that works hard and will come at you in waves. The Cards were the only ones this season that were able to speed up Butler and make the steady Bulldogs play at the Louisville pace.

Fan pressure on both Kentucky and Louisville is palpable, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

Former Louisville player Derwin Webb now works as an attorney in the Derby City. Even with grown-up responsibilities, he can’t escape the pull of the Kentucky-Louisville game. Earlier this week, he said he had made a bet that will require him to wear blue in court should UK win Friday’s game. Webb declined to say with whom he’d bet. When asked if it was a judge, he laughed and said, “I cannot confirm nor deny.”

Rash of injuries tests Louisville’s strength, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

The whole of Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad during its 11-1 start has been greater than the sum of its parts. That theory has been tested severely the past couple of weeks, and it took another blow with Pitino’s announcement Thursday that sophomore forward Rakeem Buckles would miss the next two weeks with a finger injury suffered in practice.

The rivalry has gone a little stale, writes Mark Story of the H-L.

Yo, guys. When Kentucky and Louisville renew our state’s marquee basketball rivalry Friday, can we finally have an honest-to-goodness, well-played game? Please. For all the sound and fury that Cats vs. Cards produces in our hoops-mad state, our dirty little secret is that Kentucky vs. Louisville in recent years has not yielded very good basketball.

Story also writes about Pike County’s dilemma thanks to Elisha Justice.

New Year’s Party starts early here, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.

They may drop a big ball in New York City, as always, at midnight. But here in Kentucky, we will drop ours at noon. And it will be a basketball. This is how we (pick and) roll. Have you noticed? With the annual hoops renewal between the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville scheduled for New Year’s Eve, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say “Happy New Year.”

Neither team expecting a Brawlball repeat, writes the Courier-Journal.

Few of the memorable images from the University of Kentucky’s 71-62 victory over the University of Louisville last season involved actual basketball plays. It began like a wrestling match. Both coaches expect that to change when the 11th-ranked Wildcats and No.22 Cardinals renew their rivalry at noon today in the KFC Yum! Center.

But UK ready in case this is another backyard brawl, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.

DeAndre Liggins, one of the few veterans on the Kentucky basketball team who endured the wars of last year’s game with Louisville, knows all about the mind games and brutality that are a part of rivalry games. As a Chicago native, Liggins said the physical, borderline out-of-control play of last season’s Dream Game was just another basketball game on the streets of the Windy City.

Dunlap banged-up, but Kentucky whips UT-Martin, reports Jen Smith of the H-L.

Memorial Coliseum was silent as senior star Victoria Dunlap writhed on the floor in pain after a loose-ball collision with a Kentucky teammate. It stayed quiet as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year was carried off the floor by two trainers because she couldn’t put weight on her left leg with 10 minutes remaining of what had been an uneventful game.

Kentucky and Louisville want a clean renewal, writes Will Graves of the AP.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino thought it looked like roller derby. Kentucky center Josh Harrellson kept waiting for another fight to break out. Coach John Calipari sensed a maliciousness that bordered on unseemly. Whatever happened during Kentucky’s bruising 71-62 win over the rival Cardinals a year ago, it wasn’t basketball. At least, not the kind fans pride themselves on in the Bluegrass.

Passion, emotion and toughness required today, writes Tipton.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari figures his Kiddie Cats will feel the intensity of a game against Louisville on Friday. Literally. “The guys that don’t understand it will feel it like a shot upside your head or a grab,” he said on Thursday. “You’ll feel it.”

Cats must be tough and strong against Louisville, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

John Calipari knows last year’s Louisville-Kentucky game was billed as the “game of the century” in Kentucky and he understands the hype for Friday’s game in the new KFC Yum Center in Louisville. “But we don’t make one game more important than any other game. In this game, the players understand how important it is,” Calipari said Thursday. “This game will be approached the same way as others. If we win, then it is a huge game. But we never change (preparation) for any opponent. It will be physical. You better be able to finish around the rim. If you are rebounding, you better get on a body.”

It’s a Yummy Showdown, writes Tom Leach.

When Kentucky and Louisville renew their roundball rivalry at the sparking new KFC Yum! Center, there’s a good chance an unexpected hero will emerge. We’ve seen it happen several times and if it happens tomorrow, Darius Miller might be the guy to fill that role. He hasn’t scored a point in two games against his school’s arch rival but Miller played one of his best all-around games last time out.

And now to the actual game, writes Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.

Louisville had an advantage in this category a little bit ago, and it was supposed to be one of the main things the Cards had going for them. They have nine players averaging more than 14 minutes per game, while UK has six. However, that surplus has been negated with recent injuries to Louisville. Mike Marra (9.3 ppg, most 3-point attempts on team) and Elisha Justice (15.5 minutes off the bench) were known to be out, and today Rick Pitino announced Rakeem Buckles (8.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg) will miss the game against UK.