Analytics are predicting Louisville to take down Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats

One game that every Kentucky fan is marking down on their calendar is the upcoming matchup with the Louisville Cardinals. This used to be one of the best rivalries in college basketball, but struggles for Louisville have taken the spotlight off of this game.

In the first meeting of these two coaches last season, Mark Pope's Wildcats were able to get a narrow win in Rupp Arena, but it was clear that Pat Kelsey's Cardinals wanted this game badly.

With Pope in Lexington and Kelsey in Louisville, this rivalry is officially back, and it could be one of the best games in college basketball this season.

Now, both Kentucky and Louisville are looking like top ten teams in college basketball as this rivalry game makes its way to Louisville.

Bart Torvik has quickly become one of the most reliable analytic websites in college basketball, and it believes Kelsey's Cardinals will win this game 82-78.

Kentucky has a team that will rely on superstar Otega Oweh, who is paired with some great pieces from the transfer portal. Louisville has an elite backcourt, but there are some questions with this team's frontcourt.

One of the concerns for Kentucky will be the health of Jayden Quaintance, who is fighting back from an ACL tear. It is still up in the air if he will be able to play in this game, and if not, Kentucky will need a great showing from Brandon Garrison.

This is going to be an excellent basketball game, and before the season starts, the metrics seem to like the Cards.