Oct 30, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope calls out to his players during the first half against the Georgetown Hoyas at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

ESPN picks the winner between the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Nov 9, 2025 1:14 PM ET

The game of the year could be coming up on Tuesday as the Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to take on the Louisville Cardinals in the KFC Yum Center.

The Wildcats and Cardinals look like two of the best teams in college basketball, so this rivalry matchup should be a good one this season.

KenPom has the Wildcats ranked number one right now, with their defense ranked fourth and the offense ranked 11th. The Cardinals currently sit 11th in KenPom with the third-best offense and the 37th-best defense.

This Louisville team can shoot the ball with its elite guards, but they have not yet played a defense like the one the Wildcats possess.

Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Kentucky's offense has been a question early in the season, but they have been without Denzel Aberdeen and Jaland Lowe at times. In the first game with both of these players on the floor, the Wildcats' offense looked elite, blowing the doors off of Valparaiso.

Obviously, the level of competition from Valpo to Louisville is nowhere close, but the reality is this game proved that these two guards are the engine that gets this offense moving.

Kentucky had a better night shooting the ball against Valparaiso from deep, but they still haven't had the explosive night from deep that fans know will be coming soon. The hope in Lexington is that the explosion from deep will come on Tuesday night in the KFC Yum Center.

ESPN picks the winner between Kentucky and Louisville

Despite Kentucky being ranked #1 in KenPom, ESPN does not like the Wildcats in this game, as they only give Pope's team a 26.8% chance to win this basketball game.

This game is on the road, but 26.8% seems way too low for the Wildcats, and soon Pope's team will head to Louisville with a lot to prove.

For Kentucky, this game is going to come down to whether or not Pope's defense can slow Louisville's elite offensive attack that includes a lot of shooters, and if the offense can have a dominant day from three.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Fans in Lexington believe the Wildcats will win this game, and fans in Louisville believe the Cards will get the job done. This is going to be an excellent basketball game that will get the Kentucky/Louisville rivalry back to one of the best in college basketball.

This game will have an Elite Eight/Final Four type of feel, knowing how good the competition is and how bad each team wants to pull off the win.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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