The UK and U of L basketball teams have been practicing today at the Superdome in New Orleans, where they will square off tomorrow evening in the NCAA Final Four. Thousands of Cards and Cats fans are also in New Orleans for the game, and many more will be watching at sports bars and house parties across Kentucky.U of L’s Jared Swopshire says he and his teammates are not really caught up in the hype."I guess for the fans I can understand that it’s more than just a game, but for us, we’ve been playing this game for so many years that it’s just another basketball game, just a bigger stage," he said. This is the second straight Final Four for the Kentucky program, but the first for the team's highly touted freshmen.Senior guard Darius Miller says the Wildcats are playing well as a team. "Nobody’s been really caring about who’s scoring the most or anything like that, we just all want to win the national championship. Once we all focus in on what we need to do to win the national championship, nothing else really matters," he said. This is Louisville’s first Final Four since 2005.Kentucky and Louisville will tip off shortly after 6pm. The winner advances to Monday’s championship game against either Ohio State or Kansas.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
