Rick Pitino, Russell Smith head Louisville Cardinals past John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats

Pitino finally found a way to alleviate some of the stress Saturday after four straight losses to a John Calipari-coached Kentucky team.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, December 29, 2012, 11:30 PM

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Chane Behanan and Louisville have right stuff to beat Kentucky, leaving John Calipari and rivals at a loss for a change.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rick Pitino has walked both sides of what he calls “the sickest rivalry in college basketball” between Kentucky and Louisville.

He resurrected Kentucky from the shame of near-death NCAA sanctions, transforming the Wildcats back into a national power from 1990 through 1997. Along the way, he beat Louisville six of eight times before leaving to become the head coach of the Boston Celtics.

Since returning to the college game as the head coach at Louisville in 2001, he discovered that beating his old school is more difficult than he had thought.

Pitino finally found a way to alleviate some of the stress Saturday after four straight losses to a John Calipari-coached Kentucky team.

Junior guard Russell Smith, a player Pitino hardly knew about in high school, rebounded from a slow start to score 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the fourth-ranked Cardinals (12-1) held on to defeat the young, rapidly improving Wildcats, 80-77. Smith also contributed seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The victory was a big relief for Louisville players, who had to live with the cruel fact they had never beaten Kentucky (8-4) during their careers and lost to the defending national champions in last year’s Final Four in New Orleans.

“This one probably ranks as one of the top five biggest wins of my life,’’ said Smith, whose list includes last season’s NCAA regional final, the Round of 16 and Louisville’s two wins that clinched the Big East tournament last March. “It’s not a conference win but it’s a great non-conference win. It’s a great win for our city. We’re actually more happy for our fans than ourselves. I guess revenge is the word, but it feels good beating the team that knocked us out of the Final Four.’’

Smith attended Archbishop Molloy, where he played for the legendary Jack Curran, but he did not attract any attention from high major programs until the summer after his senior year when former assistant Ralph Willard told Pitino to take a chance and offer the kid a scholarship as a point guard. “Because he’s not a McDonald’s All American, Russ actually lied about the schools that were recruiting him,’’ Pitino said. “He wasn’t being recruited by any Big East programs. Not one of them. But I had great confidence in Ralph.’’

Smith struggled through his freshman year with a broken foot and sore knees and almost transferred when he became frustrated by the loss of his quickness.

“I actually had my bags packed,” he said. “I was frustrated. I felt I didn’t really have a chance to show what I could do. I lost a step and at this level, you really have to be athletic. But my dad and mom convinced me to stick it out.’’

Pitino decided to convert Smith to a two guard and the rest is history. “’We went to the Bahamas that summer and the day I made him a two guard, he became one of the premier players in the country,’’ Pitino said.

Pitino has built a reputation for making average players good and good players great. But until this year, he could never match Calipari in terms of NBA prospects in his program.

Calipari has sent 15 players to the NBA in the past three years alone, becoming a magnet for blue-chip prospects who have been seduced by his success with  one-and-done players. “This is the first year I thought we had as much talent as Kentucky,’’ Pitino said. “Quite frankly, more talent than them because we have more experience. They are going to be a great team come February. I marvel at what John does with young players. Two weeks ago, I didn’t think they were a very good basketball team. Now, they’re a hell of a basketball team.”

Louisville shot 48.4%, unleashing powerful 6-8 sophomore forward Chane Behanan for 20 points and senior point guard Peyton Siva for 19.

But Kentucky made the Cardinals work overtime for this much-needed victory. The  Wildcats, who got 22 points from freshman guard Archie Goodwin, shot 48.3% and made 10 of 21 3-point attempts, cut what had been a 17-point deficit to 77-74 when Goodwin canned a three and added a free throw when he was fouled on the play by Siva with 33 seconds left.

The Cardinals finally closed out the game after Smith made one of two free throws to send the Cards up four and then Behanan intercepted an ill-advised pass from Goodwin, who had gotten trapped, and raced down the floor for a thunderous dunk with 18 seconds remaining.

Calipari took the blame afterward for not calling a timeout at that critical moment.

“I told my team all week, ‘You get close and I’ll help us get over the edge,’ ’’ Calipari said. “Down four with the ball. Believe me, I was standing there thinking timeout and I didn’t do it. That was the end of the game. I told them this one is on me and hopefully I’ll do a better job.’’

Calipari has always had a competitive streak when Pitino is involved. It is part of what fuels him. Pitino has breathed new life into his program, winning 30 games in two of the past four years. Pitino has the best winning percentage in Big East since 2005-2006, when the Cardinals arrived from Conference USA. His record at Louisville in Big East play is 81-41. His overall record of 640-235 in 27 seasons is Hall of Fame-worthy.

But Calipari has dominated this passion play since he arrived in the Blue Grass, beating Pitino four times in three years. The ’Cats embarrassed the Cardinals two years ago with a double-figure victory and defeated them twice last season, once at Rupp Arena and again in the Final Four.

Even though Pitino has attempted to downplay this rivalry, he looked like he needed this victory for his psyche. The fashion-conscious Pitino even went away from his Armani look, taking off his tie to coach the second half. It was that kind of game for bitter rivals seeking bragging rights in the Commonwealth.