Kentucky–Louisville rivalry
Kentucky Wildcats–Louisville Cardinals | ||
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Men's Basketball Regular Season History | ||
First Meeting | February 15, 1913 | |
First Result | Kentucky 34 – Louisville 10 | |
Latest Meeting | December 26, 2015 | |
Latest Result | Kentucky 75 – Louisville 73 | |
Next Meeting | TBA | |
Total Number of Meetings | 49 | |
Largest Victory | Kentucky: 34 points (1948) Louisville: 22 points (1988) | |
Current Streak | Kentucky 4 | |
All-time Series | Kentucky leads 34–15 | |
Men's Basketball Post Season History | ||
Last Meeting | 2014 NCAA | |
Last Result | Kentucky 74 – Louisville 69 | |
All-Time Postseason Series | Kentucky 4–Louisville 2 | |
Men's Basketball National Success | ||
NCAA Final Fours
NCAA Tournament Championships
NCAA Tournament Appearances
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Background
The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry refers to the rivalry between the University of Kentucky Wildcats (Kentucky) and the University of Louisville Cardinals (Louisville). The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry is one of the most passionate rivalries, especially in men's college basketball. It is considered one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. The intensity of the rivalry is captivated by the proximity of the two schools and the interest in college sports in the state of Kentucky where there are no pro-affiliated sports teams.
Men's basketball
The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry has been ranked the 3rd best rivalry in all of college sports by Basketball Hall of Fame contributor Dick Vitale.[1] Kentucky and Louisville first played against each other in 1913 but stopped playing each other in the 1920s. The rivalry was generally dormant with only occasional matchups until the teams met in the 1983 NCAA Tournament. Since then, the two teams have met each year in late December or early January.
Much like the Iron Bowl, the Kentucky–Louisville rivalry is all the more intense because the two schools have consistently been among the nation's elite men's basketball teams for most of the last 50 years. Both schools are also two of the most victorious programs in NCAA men's basketball history; Kentucky is #1 on the list of all-time winningest programs in Division I Men's Basketball and Louisville #11. Combining for eight national championships over the last 38 years, Kentucky and Louisville have captured 22% of the national championships, or greater than one every five years.
History
The rivalry was fueled when Rick Pitino was hired as Louisville's head men's basketball coach in 2001, as he had served in that same role with Kentucky from 1989-1997.[2] Kentucky leads the all-time basketball series with Louisville 32 games to 15, and Kentucky leads the modern series 23 games to 12.[3] In six tournament meetings as of 2014, Kentucky leads the series four games to two with their most recent win coming in the 2014 sweet sixteen 74-69. The teams met in the 2012 Final Four, and Kentucky defeated Louisville with a score of 69-61 en route to the national title. This was the deepest ever tournament meeting between the two schools and their first tournament meeting since 1984.
Results
Date | Site | Winning team | Losing team | Series | Notes | ||
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1913-02-15 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky | 34 | Louisville | 10 | UK 1-0 | |
1914-02-07 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky | 22 | Louisville | 17 | UK 2-0 | |
1914-03-03 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky | 26 | Louisville | 13 | UK 3-0 | |
1915-01-23 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky | 18 | Louisville | 14 | UK 4-0 | |
1915-02-27 | Louisville, KY | Louisville | 26 | Kentucky | 15 | UK 4-1 | |
1916-02-12 | Lexington, KY | Louisville | 28 | Kentucky | 22 | UK 4-2 | |
1916-02-22 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky | 32 | Louisville | 24 | UK 5-2 | |
1922-01-17 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky | 38 | Louisville | 14 | UK 6-2 | |
1922-01-21 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky | 29 | Louisville | 22 | UK 7-2 | |
1948-03-27 | New York City, NY | Kentucky | 91 | Louisville | 57 | UK 8-2 | |
1951-03-20 | Raleigh, NC | Kentucky (1) | 79 | Louisville | 68 | UK 9-2 | 1951 NCAA First Round |
1959-03-13 | Evanston, IL | Louisville | 76 | Kentucky (2) | 61 | UK 9-3 | 1959 NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1983-03-26† | Knoxville, TN | Louisville (2) | 80 | Kentucky (12) | 68 | UK 9-4 | 1983 NCAA Elite Eight |
1983-11-26 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (1) | 65 | Louisville (6) | 44 | UK 10-4 | |
1984-03-22 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (3) | 72 | Louisville | 67 | UK 11-4 | 1984 NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1984-12-15 | Louisville, KY | Louisville (14) | 71 | Kentucky | 64 | UK 11-5 | |
1985-12-28 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (13) | 69 | Louisville (15) | 64 | UK 12-5 | |
1986-12-27 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (18) | 85 | Louisville | 51 | UK 13-5 | |
1987-12-12 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (1) | 76 | Louisville | 75 | UK 14-5 | |
1988-12-31 | Louisville, KY | Louisville (14) | 97 | Kentucky | 75 | UK 14-6 | |
1989-12-30 | Lexington, KY | Louisville (8) | 86 | Kentucky | 79 | UK 14-7 | |
1990-12-29 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (18) | 93 | Louisville | 85 | UK 15-7 | |
1991-12-28 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (17) | 103 | Louisville (21) | 89 | UK 16-7 | |
1992-12-12 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (3) | 88 | Louisville (9) | 68 | UK 17-7 | |
1993-11-27 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (2) | 78 | Louisville (7) | 70 | UK 18-7 | |
1995-01-01 | Louisville, KY | Louisville | 88 | Kentucky (5) | 86 | UK 18-8 | |
1995-12-23 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (4) | 89 | Louisville (25) | 66 | UK 19-8 | |
1996-12-31 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (3) | 74 | Louisville (16) | 54 | UK 20-8 | |
1997-12-27 | Lexington, KY | Louisville | 79 | Kentucky (4) | 76 | UK 20-9 | |
1998-12-26 | Louisville, KY | Louisville | 83 | Kentucky (3) | 74 | UK 20-10 | |
1999-12-18 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky | 76 | Louisville | 46 | UK 21-10 | |
2001-01-02 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky | 64 | Louisville | 62 | UK 22-10 | |
2001-12-29 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (6) | 82 | Louisville | 62 | UK 23-10 | |
2002-12-28 | Louisville, KY | Louisville | 81 | Kentucky (14) | 63 | UK 23-11 | |
2003-12-27 | Lexington, KY | Louisville (20) | 65 | Kentucky (2) | 56 | UK 23-12 | |
2004-12-18 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (9) | 60 | Louisville (13) | 58 | UK 24-12 | |
2005-12-17 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (23) | 73 | Louisville (4) | 61 | UK 25-12 | |
2006-12-16 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky | 61 | Louisville | 49 | UK 26-12 | |
2008-01-05 | Lexington, KY | Louisville | 89 | Kentucky | 75 | UK 26-13 | |
2009-01-04 | Louisville, KY | Louisville (18) | 74 | Kentucky | 71 | UK 26-14 | |
2010-01-03 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (3) | 71 | Louisville | 62 | UK 27-14 | |
2010-12-31 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (11) | 78 | Louisville (22) | 63 | UK 28-14 | |
2011-12-31 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (3) | 69 | Louisville (4) | 62 | UK 29-14 | |
2012-03-31 | New Orleans, LA | Kentucky (1) | 69 | Louisville (17) | 61 | UK 30-14 | 2012 NCAA Final Four |
2012-12-29 | Louisville, KY | Louisville (4) | 80 | Kentucky | 77 | UK 30-15 | |
2013-12-28 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (18) | 73 | Louisville (6) | 66 | UK 31-15 | |
2014-03-28 | Indianapolis, IN | Kentucky | 74 | Louisville (5) | 69 | UK 32-15 | 2014 NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
2014-12-27 | Louisville, KY | Kentucky (1) | 58 | Louisville (4) | 50 | UK 33-15 | |
2015-12-26 | Lexington, KY | Kentucky (12) | 75 | Louisville (16) | 73 | UK 34-15 |
Kentucky victories are shaded ██ blue. Louisville victories shaded in ██ red. † indicates overtime. Numbers in parentheses indicate a team's Associated Press Top 25 rank at the time of the games.
Game MVP
NOTE:. The 2010 game was the inaugural year for the award. The Bluegrass Sports Commission (BSC) names the Most Valuable Player of the men's basketball game between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.
Date | Player | Team | Position | Statistics |
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12-31-2010 | Josh Harrellson | Kentucky | C | 23 Points, 14 Rebounds [4] |
12-31-2011 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Kentucky | F | 24 Points, 19 Rebounds[5] |
12-29-2012 | Russ Smith | Louisville | G | 21 Points, 3 Assists[6] |
12-28-2013 | James Young | Kentucky | F | 18 Points, 10 Rebounds[7] |
12-27-2014 | Tyler Ulis | Kentucky | G | 14 Points, 2 Assists[8] |
12-26-2015 | Tyler Ulis | Kentucky | G | 21 Points, 8 Assists[9] |
Broadcast History
Date | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst(s) |
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January 2, 2001 | ESPN | Bob Carpenter | Jay Bilas |
December 29, 2001 | CBS | Jim Nantz | Billy Packer |
December 28, 2002 | ESPN | Dan Schulman | Dick Vitale |
December 27, 2003 | CBS | Gus Johnson | Billy Packer |
December 18, 2004 | ESPN | Dan Schulman | Dick Vitale |
December 17, 2005 | CBS | Verne Lundquist | Billy Packer |
December 16, 2006 | CBS | Verne Lundquist | Billy Packer |
January 5, 2008 | CBS | Verne Lundquist | Billy Packer |
January 4, 2009 | CBS | Kevin Harlan | Clark Kellogg |
January 3, 2010 | CBS | Verne Lundquist | Clark Kellogg |
December 31, 2011 | CBS | Gus Johnson | Clark Kellogg |
December 31, 2012 | CBS | Ian Eagle | Clark Kellogg |
March 31, 2012 | CBS | Jim Nantz | Clark Kellogg Steve Kerr |
December 29, 2012 | CBS | Tim Brando | Greg Anthony Clark Kellogg |
December 28, 2013 | CBS | Jim Nantz | Greg Anthony |
March 28, 2014 | CBS | Jim Nantz | Greg Anthony |
December 27, 2014 | ESPN2 | Dan Schulman | Jay Bilas |
December 26, 2015 | CBS | Tom McCarthy | Bill Raftery |
Football
The football rivalry is not as traditional as the basketball rivalry, as the modern series started in 1994. Kentucky and Louisville first played each other in football in 1912. Kentucky dominated six meetings between the teams from 1912 until 1924, holding Louisville scoreless in all six games, after which the teams stopped playing. In 1994, with former Kentucky player Howard Schnellenberger coaching Louisville, the series was revived after a 70-year dormancy. Louisville has won 14 of the last 22 meetings with Kentucky on the field. The series is tied 14–14 overall. Louisville has won five straight meetings dating back to the 2011 season.
From 1994 to 2006 the annual matchup was always played in the opening weekend of the college football season. In 2007 the game was moved to the third game of the season when played in Lexington but remained the first game when played in Louisville. Starting in 2014, which marked Louisville's inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Governor's Cup became the last game of the regular season for both teams to coincide with several other ACC-SEC same-state rivalries.
See also
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Louisville Cardinals
- Governor's Cup (Kentucky)
- The Rivalry: Red V. Blue
- Traditional athletic rivalries in many countries of the world
References
- ↑ "Dick Vitale picks the best rivalries in college sports". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Louisville Hires Pitino To Spice A Rivalry". The New York Times. 22 March 2001.
- ↑ "Kentucky's Record versus Louisville". Big Blue History. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
- ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 31, 2010 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats - Box Score - December 31, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 29, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats - Box Score - December 28, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 27, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 26, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
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