Kentucky–Louisville rivalry

Kentucky–Louisville rivalry
Kentucky Wildcats
Louisville Cardinals
Sport Basketball
First meeting February 15, 1913
Kentucky 34, Louisville 10
Latest meeting December 29, 2017
Kentucky 90, Louisville 61
Next meeting December 29, 2018 in Louisville
Statistics
Meetings total 50
All-time series Kentucky leads, 34–16 Regular season and 2 NCAA
Largest victory Kentucky: 34 points (1948)
Louisville: 22 points (1988)
Current win streak Kentucky, 1 (2017–present)

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, the state of Kentucky's interest in college sports (no pro-affiliated sports teams play in the state of Kentucky), as well as cultural differences between the city of Louisville and the rest of the state.

Men's basketball

The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry has been ranked the 2nd best rivalry in college basketball by Bleacher Report and 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, playing only twelve times between 1913 and 1983. 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. Kentucky has eight national championships and Louisville three. 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 to 1997.[2] Kentucky leads the all-time basketball series with Louisville 35 games to 16, 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
1913-02-15Lexington, KY Kentucky      34Louisville10UK 1-0
1914-02-07Lexington, KY Kentucky22Louisville17UK 2-0
1914-03-03Louisville, KY Kentucky26Louisville13UK 3-0
1915-01-23Lexington, KY Kentucky18Louisville14UK 4-0
1915-02-27Louisville, KY Louisville26Kentucky       15UK 4-1
1916-02-12Lexington, KY Louisville28Kentucky22UK 4-2
1916-02-22Louisville, KY Kentucky32Louisville24UK 5-2
1922-01-17Louisville, KY Kentucky38Louisville14UK 6-2
1922-01-21Lexington, KY Kentucky29Louisville22UK 7-2
1948-03-27New York City, NY Kentucky91Louisville57UK 8-2
1951-03-20Raleigh, NC Kentucky (1)79Louisville68UK 9-21951 NCAA First Round
1959-03-13Evanston, IL Louisville76Kentucky (2)61UK 9-31959 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983-03-26†Knoxville, TN Louisville (2)80Kentucky (12)68UK 9-41983 NCAA Elite Eight
1983-11-26Lexington, KY Kentucky (1)65Louisville (6)44UK 10-4
1984-03-22Lexington, KY Kentucky (3)72Louisville67UK 11-41984 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1984-12-15Louisville, KY Louisville (14)71Kentucky64UK 11-5
1985-12-28Lexington, KY Kentucky (13)69Louisville (15)64UK 12-5
1986-12-27Louisville, KY Kentucky (18)85Louisville51UK 13-5
1987-12-12Lexington, KY Kentucky (1)76Louisville75UK 14-5
1988-12-31Louisville, KY Louisville (14)97Kentucky75UK 14-6
1989-12-30Lexington, KY Louisville (8)86Kentucky79UK 14-7
1990-12-29Louisville, KY Kentucky (18)93Louisville85UK 15-7
1991-12-28Lexington, KY Kentucky (17)103Louisville (21)89UK 16-7
1992-12-12Louisville, KY Kentucky (3)88Louisville (9)68UK 17-7
1993-11-27Lexington, KY Kentucky (2)78Louisville (7)70UK 18-7
1995-01-01Louisville, KY Louisville88Kentucky (5)86UK 18-8
1995-12-23Lexington, KY Kentucky (4)89Louisville (25)66UK 19-8
1996-12-31Louisville, KY Kentucky (3)74Louisville (16)54UK 20-8
1997-12-27Lexington, KY Louisville79Kentucky (4)76UK 20-9
1998-12-26Louisville, KY Louisville83Kentucky (3)74 UK 20-10 
1999-12-18Lexington, KY Kentucky76Louisville46UK 21-10
2001-01-02Louisville, KY Kentucky64Louisville62UK 22-10
2001-12-29Lexington, KY Kentucky (6)82Louisville62UK 23-10
2002-12-28Louisville, KY Louisville81Kentucky (14)63UK 23-11
2003-12-27Lexington, KY Louisville (20)65Kentucky (2)56UK 23-12
2004-12-18Louisville, KY Kentucky (9)60Louisville (13)58UK 24-12
2005-12-17Lexington, KY Kentucky (23)73Louisville (4)61UK 25-12
2006-12-16Louisville, KY Kentucky61Louisville49UK 26-12
2008-01-05Lexington, KY Louisville89Kentucky75UK 26-13
2009-01-04Louisville, KY Louisville (18)74Kentucky71UK 26-14
2010-01-02Lexington, KY Kentucky (3)71Louisville62UK 27-14
2010-12-31Louisville, KY Kentucky (11)78Louisville (22)63UK 28-14
2011-12-31Lexington, KY Kentucky (3)69Louisville (4)62UK 29-14
2012-03-31New Orleans, LA Kentucky (1)69Louisville (17)61UK 30-142012 NCAA Final Four
2012-12-29Louisville, KY Louisville (4)80Kentucky77UK 30-15
2013-12-28Lexington, KY Kentucky (18)73Louisville (6)66UK 31-15
2014-03-28Indianapolis, IN Kentucky74Louisville (5)69UK 32-152014 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014-12-27Louisville, KY Kentucky (1)58Louisville (4)50UK 33-15
2015-12-26Lexington, KY Kentucky (12)75Louisville (16)73UK 34-15
2016-12-21Louisville, KY Louisville (10)73Kentucky (6)70UK 34-16
2017-12-29Lexington, KY Kentucky (16)90Louisville61UK 35-16

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
 12-31-2010 Josh Harrellson KentuckyC23 Points, 14 Rebounds [4]
 12-31-2011 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist KentuckyF24 Points, 19 Rebounds[5]
 12-29-2012 Russ Smith LouisvilleG21 Points, 3 Assists[6]
 12-28-2013 James Young KentuckyF18 Points, 10 Rebounds[7]
 12-27-2014 Tyler Ulis KentuckyG14 Points, 2 Assists[8]
 12-26-2015 Tyler Ulis KentuckyG21 Points, 8 Assists[9]
 12-21-2016 Quentin Snider LouisvilleG22 Points, 6 Rebounds, 5 Assists[10]
 12-29-2017 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander KentuckyG24 Points, 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals[11]

Broadcast History

Date Network Play-by-play Analyst(s)
January 2, 2001 ESPN Bob Carpenter Jay Bilas
December 29, 2001 CBS Jim Nantz Billy Packer
December 28, 2002 ESPN Dan Shulman Dick Vitale
December 27, 2003 CBS Gus Johnson Billy Packer
December 18, 2004 ESPN Dan Shulman 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, 2010 CBS Gus Johnson Clark Kellogg
December 31, 2011 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 Shulman Jay Bilas
December 26, 2015 CBS Tom McCarthy Bill Raftery
December 21, 2016 ESPN Dan Shulman Jay Bilas
December 29, 2017 CBS Spero Dedes Bill Raftery

Football

The football rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville started one year earlier than the basketball rivalry but also had a long dormant period. 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. The series is currently tied at 15–15 but Louisville leads the Governors Cup series 15-9.

From 1994 to 2006 the annual matchup was the first game of the season for Kentucky and was the first game for all but two of those years for Louisville. 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.

The 2017 game was won by Louisville, 44–17. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was named MVP of the showdown.

Other sports

  • Women's basketball: Kentucky leads the series 34–20 as of the 2017–18 season. Most recently, no. 3 Louisville beat Kentucky 87-63 in Lexington on December 17, 2017.[12] Kentucky entered that game having won five of the past six meetings with Louisville.[13] The series dates back to the 1911–12 season, long before Kentucky and Louisville's programs became varsity in 1974–75, from which the series has been continuously active.[14]
  • Women's volleyball: Most recently winning 3-0 in Lexington, Kentucky leads the series 29–25 as of 2017 in a series that initially was played every year from 1977 to 2005 except in 1981 and resumed in 2009 after a hiatus.[15][16]
  • Men's soccer: The two men's soccer programs have met 31 times. Kentucky leads 14–13–5. The last meeting between the two was on September 5, 2017 which ended in a 2–2 tie.[17]
  • Baseball: As of 2018, Kentucky leads the series 71–45–1 in a series dating back to 1925.[18][19] In 2017, Louisville won the season series 3–1, including a sweep of Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament Louisville Super Regional.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dick Vitale picks the best rivalries in college sports". ESPN.com.
  2. ↑ "Louisville Hires Pitino To Spice A Rivalry". The New York Times. March 22, 2001.
  3. ↑ "Kentucky's Record versus Louisville". Big Blue History. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 31, 2010 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  5. ↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats - Box Score - December 31, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  6. ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 29, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  7. ↑ "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats - Box Score - December 28, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  8. ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 27, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  9. ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 26, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  10. ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - December 21, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  11. ↑ "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins MVP award; Highlights of his breakout game vs Louisville". aseaofblue.com.
  12. ↑ "Kentucky-Louisville Postgame Notes". University of Kentucky Athletics. December 17, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Kentucky Hosts No. 3/4 Louisville Sunday in Memorial Coliseum". University of Kentucky. December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Scores vs. All Opponents" (PDF). Believe in Blue: 2017-18 Women's Basketball Media Guide. University of Kentucky. 2017. p. 153.
  15. ↑ Kentucky Volleyball 2017 Media Guide (PDF). University of Kentucky. 2017. pp. 62–63.
  16. ↑ Moore, Deb (September 15, 2017). "No. 12 Kentucky Wins Fifth Straight Over Louisville". Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  17. ↑ Wall, Garrett (September 5, 2017). "No. 8 Cardinals Earn 2-2 Draw with No. 19 Wildcats". gocards.com. Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Kentucky vs. all opponents" (PDF). 2017 Kentucky Baseball Media Guide. University of Kentucky. 2017. p. 108.
  19. 1 2 http://ukathletics.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=37
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