It’s Just Another Day for Pitino

If Rick Pitino took any extra satisfaction from his new team beating his old team, he barely showed it.

As the last seconds ticked off in Louisville’s 81-63 victory over No. 14 Kentucky at Freedom Hall on Saturday, Pitino got up from his crouch on the sideline and calmly walked to midcourt to shake hands with Wildcat Coach Tubby Smith, his former assistant.

“Everyone will say, ‘Well, he’s holding it in,’ but I love beating Kentucky as much as I love beating anybody else,” said Pitino, who coached the Wildcats from 1989 to 1997 and led them to the 1996 national championship.

But a smile sneaked across Pitino’s face during his postgame news conference.

“I don’t have any special feelings, but it would’ve been terrible if we’d have lost,” he said.

Kentucky transfer Marvin Stone scored 16 points and Ellis Myles had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Louisville (7-1), which ended a three-game losing streak to its rival.

Pitino avenged a 20-point loss to the Wildcats in his much-ballyhooed return to Rupp Arena last December. He was making his first appearance in his former home arena, and fans screamed insults at him from the start in Kentucky’s 82-62 victory.

The rude reception stuck with the Cardinals.

“We really wanted to get this win for Coach, the way they treated him last year,” Myles said.

Kentucky (6-3) quieted the crowd with a fast start, dominating the boards and building a 20-9 lead. The Wildcats got 15 of the first 16 rebounds.

“I told my assistants if we don’t start rebounding, we’re practicing tonight,” Pitino said. “I don’t know if my staff told my team.”

But the rebounding evened out, and the Cardinals improved their defense. Kentucky had only three baskets in the last five minutes.

The Wildcats led 33-30 at halftime, but Erik Brown, who’s from Lexington, made a three-point basket with 17:03 left to initiate a 17-4 run by the Cardinals. Kentucky also missed nine of its first 10 second-half shots.

The crowd noise intensified with each Louisville basket as the lead bulged to 47-37 by the 14-minute mark.

“The home court was the difference,” Pitino said. “I know how much this game meant to our fans.”