In a day when Kentucky's leading scorer and rebounder was ineffective due to foul trouble, Kentucky's bench came up big. Led by Meeks' 18 points, including 4-7 from 3-point range, the bench players provided 33 of the 'Cats 61 points. Randolph Morris, who came into the game averaging nearly 17 points and eight rebounds per game, was held to two points and three rebounds in only 16 minutes of play. Morris picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game, and his third in the first minute of the 2nd half, and attempted only one field goal on the day.
In addition to Meeks' heroics, the Wildcats received help from senior center Lukasz Obrzut, who provided six points and five rebounds in relief of Morris. Michael Porter matched Obrzut's five rebounds, and chipped in four points, and Sheray Thomas added three points, five rebounds, a key blocked shot, and one assist.
Ramel Bradley shook off a shaky first half by scoring 13 2nd half points to add 15 in the game, to go along with his six rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot with only one turnover. The Cats had only 13 turnovers for the game.
After a sluggish start that saw Louisville lead through most of the first half, Kentucky finally caught Louisville and took the lead for the first time, 17-16 on a jumper by Obrzut with 6:04 to play in the half. Kentucky would hold a 27-24 lead at halftime.
The 2nd half began with the Cats scoring nine of the first 14 points to extend their lead to 36-29. Louisville would not go away, though, and the Cardinals regained the lead at 41-40 with 10:43 to go in the game. It would be Louisville's last lead, though as Kentucky would hold the Cardinals scoreless over the next six minutes, while the Cats went on a 9-0 run to extend the margin to 49-41. Kentucky would outscore Louisville 20-8 the rest of the game to win 61-49.
With the victory Kentucky moves to 7-3 on the season, and will return home to face Santa Clara Tuesday night. Their week concludes by facing Massachusetts, coached by former Wildcat Travis Ford. U Mass defeated Louisville in Freedom Hall earlier this week.