LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The mood inside KFC Yum! Center alternated between elation and tension Tuesday, with attitudes shifting to fit the big moments and stakes of a strangely timed rivalry contest in No. 12 Louisville's 96-88 victory vs. No. 9 Kentucky .

When Louisville freshman phenom Mikel Brown Jr . drilled his third 3-pointer of the first half to put the Cardinals up 18 points, it was elation from the heavily pro-Cards crowd.

As Kentucky struck back with an 18-7 run to end the half, the pendulum shifted back toward tension as "go big blue" chants rose from the pockets of Kentucky faithful clustered throughout enemy territory.

In the earliest ever meeting between these bitter in-state foes, it was hard to decipher what was real, what was fake and who could be trusted. Brown sure look

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