Kentucky (2-1) got 12 points apiece from Collin Chandler and Otega Oweh. No other Cat was in double figures.
Turnovers proved to be critical in the game. Kentucky had 14 miscues that led to 19 Louisville points. The Cards turned it over just six times, which turned into 10 points for the Cats.
Louisville scored the first four points of the game before an Oweh layup got the Cats on the board. The next possession, Chandler hit a three to give UK its first lead, 5-4. U of L answered with consecutive threes to lead 10-5.
Aberdeen hit a three to get the Cats within two, then the teams began to exchange baskets, but when Andrija Jelavic scored consecutive buckets, the Cats led 18-17. U of L took the lead back, but a Jaland Lowe four-point play made it 22-19 UK.
The Cards would score the next 13 points to grab a 32-22 lead. That streak ended on two Lowe free throws. After U of L scored again, Jelavic snapped the UK string of six consecutive missed shots with a putback to make it 34-26.
Malachi Moreno would hit two free throws to get the Cats within eight, but the Cards scored the next ten to extend the lead to 46-28. UK would get buckets from Aberdeen and Moreno to cut the deficit to 46-32. After a Louisville free throw, Oweh hit a three to cut the U of L lead to 47-35.
Oweh would make a layup followed by an Aberdeen three, capping an 8-0 UK run that cut the deficit to 47-40. After two U of L free throws, Mo Dioubate converted a three-point play to get the Cats within six. Louisville would lead 53-46 at the half.
The Cards scored first in the second half to lead by 10 before Aberdeen scored again. After a Louisville three, Oweh scored on a breakaway dunk to make it 59-50. The teams would trade baskets before Louisville scored five straight to lead 66-52. After two Oweh free throws, the Cards went on a 12-4 run to lead 78-58.
Kentucky got a three-point play from Brandon Garrison and three-pointer from Kam Williams to cut the deficit to 78-64. After a Louisville three, Chandler made consecutive triples to make it 81-70. The Cards would score, but UK got a Lowe three and a Williams putback slam to cut the Louisville lead o 83-75.
The Cards led 87-77 before Aberdeen hit two free throws and Moreno scored on a dunk to make it a six-point game. After a Louisville free throw, Chandler hit another three and the Cats were within four, 88-84, with 4:02 to play. However, Kentucky would get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday night, hosting Eastern Illinois inside Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.