Flory Bidunga is headed back to Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday, and this time he will be wearing Louisville colors. The exhibition game against Kansas is the second half of a home-and-home arrangement, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. and ESPNU carrying the broadcast.
That is what makes this one of the more watched basketball games today. Kansas beat Louisville 90-82 last season at the KFC Yum! Center behind 26 points from Darryn Peterson, and now the rematch brings Bidunga back to the place where he spent two seasons and left as the Big 12 defensive player of the year. He averaged 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as a sophomore, then announced Louisville as his transfer destination.
Bidunga did not hide the pull of the visit when he spoke to reporters in Louisville on Monday. He said he was excited, noted that he played there for two years and said it would be great to face teammates who are still there while competing with his new team. Pat Kelsey called Kansas a special place for him and said Bidunga did great things there, was beloved there and still has teammates on that roster. Kelsey added that there would naturally be a sentimental part of going back, though Bidunga is also a competitor.
That is the part of the story that gives the exhibition its edge. Bidunga is returning to Lawrence before he has played an official game for Louisville, and he is doing it in a game that is tied directly to what Kansas saw from him when he was still in its program. The exhibition format keeps the result from counting in the standings, but it does not soften the reunion, especially with a player who helped anchor Kansas defensively now facing that same team from the other side.
The next thing readers need is simple: Louisville and Kansas play Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU, and the rematch will show whether the home-and-home setup produces the same kind of edge in Lawrence that it did last season in Louisville.
