CRAWFORD | Early or late, Louisville's Kelsey feels the gravity of the Kentucky rivalry | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's early. Too early for a holiday game, too important for a warm-up act. And somehow, it's time for Kentucky and Louisville to square off, even if many fans are still breaking down their own rosters.

Doesn't matter. It's Kentucky, it's Louisville. That's all the calendar needs to say.

This is a game that always means more. If you're a coach in this state, your résumé isn't laminated until you've won it. Especially for the Louisville coach, the game has gravity, no matter when it is played.

Pat Kelsey knows this.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

So did Rick Pitino, who could beat Big East powers with one eye closed but went 6-12 against his old employer. Chris Mack went 1-3 Denny Crum went 7-13. The court they will play on this week is named after him.

Kelsey's been here for one shot at the Wildcats. He gets another Tuesday. Win or lose, Louisville fans will still love him. But they'll love him more if that final score tilts red. A lot more.

"I don't think the weight of this games any less," Kelsey said. "I mean, it's a big game. We're very well aware. You guys have heard me in press conferences many times that say the most important game in the history of Louisville basketball is the next one we play in. The next one we play in is against our rival in a really big setting, under a really big spotlight."

The rivalry has shown up earlier than ever this year. A December blood feud moved to Veterans Day. But early or not, it's ready. The fans are ready. The coaches are ready. And the rosters are mostly ready. Kentucky just got point guard Jaland Lowe back from an injury. Louisville just got forward Kasean Pryor and is hoping J'Vonne Hadley returns from a concussion.

Kelsey and Kentucky coach Mark Pope are modern men in this medieval war. Both are culture-builders. Both are data guys who like shooters and spacing and ball movement, and both believe yelling is best reserved for timeouts, not television.

"They're very good," Kelsey said. "They're very well-coached. They have positional size. They're strong. They're athletic. They're physical from a defensive perspective and they're good in their system from an offensive perspective. They're very talented in a lot of ways, like us. They're very deep. They play very fast on the offensive end. They're very good in transition. ... Even before I turned on the tape and started watching them, obviously you knew the caliber talent they have."

Translation: They can play.

"KenPom has them No. 1 in the country for a reason," Kelsey said.

This is a meeting of rosters with depth, coaches with similar philosophies, and fanbases with long memories. You don't win this game and forget about it. You frame it and refer back.

Pope got the better of Kelsey last year in Lexington, a 33-point detonation from Lamont Butler tipping the scales. This year, it's in the KFC Yum! Center.

"We're approaching it the same, you know, the same way we do everyone, but we're very, very well aware of the stakes and the spotlight," Kelsey said. "We're just excited about the opportunity. It's going to be a big-time college game and a big-time college atmosphere. They're going to find out a lot about themselves, as are we by the end of it. The whole season is a marathon, not a sprint. Obviously, this is early. The earliest I think this game has ever been played. There's been a lot of a lot of talk as to why, as to whether we like it better or worse. I don't know right now. It's the advantage of no choice."

Even the weather seems to know what week it is.

"It feels like the dead of winter," Kelsey said. "It's so cold I can't even see straight getting out of my car."

But that's how this game works. Doesn't matter if it's February or November. It could be played on the moon. The thermostat never matters in this rivalry.

The heat's always on.