Click here for Chad Sherwood and David Griggs’ latest Under The Radar Podcast
11 NCAA Championships. This is the combined amount of titles won between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals.
When you think of Kentucky, you think of the flagship state university. 8 NCAA titles, 2 NIT titles, 17 Final Fours, 2,000+ victories and counting, a death penalty (and a near-repeat in the late 1980s), Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and John Calipari. The shadow and mystique of Rupp was so big that even an up-and-coming coaching legend like Paul “Bear” Bryant could not escape it; he would go on to lead Texas A&M and Alabama to prominence.
When you think of Louisville, you look at the state’s largest city and urban area. The Cardinals not only have 3 NCAA titles under their name, they also have 10 Final Fours, an NIT title and also an NAIA title to their name. Denny Crum, Darrell Griffith, Pervis Ellison, and Rick Pitino.
There are 3 periods that divide the series – the first era took place between 1913 and 1922. Kentucky would win 7 out of the first 9 matchups. Of course, this was also an era in which scoring 38 points (UK won 38-14 in 1922) represented an offensive explosion.
The 2nd period lasted between 1922 and 1983. Only 3 meetings would take place, all of which would take place in a tournament setting. The first meeting actually took place in New York – Kentucky won their first NCAA Championship in 1948 with wins over Michigan, Holy Cross and Baylor; Louisville won the NAIA title that year with wins over South Dakota State, Emporia State (KS), Beloit (WI), Xavier (OH) and Indiana State. Not surprisingly, Kentucky would trounce Louisville 91-57 in this battle of national title winners. The only other meetings took place in the NCAA Tournament – Kentucky would win 79-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1951; Louisville would win 76-61 in the Round of 16 in 1959. Another thing in common between those 3 games – neither one took place in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The 1951 game was played at NC State’s campus; the 1959 contest took place at Northwestern’s campus.
Perhaps the most memorable game between the two teams took place in 1983 (click here for the pregame and game coverage). Like the last 3 games player between UK and UofL, this game was also played outside the commonwealth on Tennessee’s campus. Even this game almost didn’t happen; it took a buzzer-beater by Louisville to knock off Arkansas (who, ironically, was coached by future UK head coach Eddie Sutton). Kentucky secured their spot with an upset win over interstate rival Indiana. CBS also did a nice pregame piece showing Kentucky’s aversion to playing Louisville in almost a quarter-century, but the national audience was treated to an overtime thriller that saw Louisville defeat Kentucky 80-68 to clinch a Final Four appearance for the 2nd straight year. Even a loss to Houston a week later could not dampen the spirits of Louisville fans.
But thanks to this game and some “encouragement” from then-governor John Brown and the Kentucky legislature, Kentucky-Louisville finally became a fixture game in the regular season. It has traditionally been played on the first weekend after Christmas, but this has not always been the case. The 1983-84 season actually had a double feature; Kentucky would win the regular-season meeting in Lexington and also in the NCAA Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena as well (you can click here for the 1st half of that game and here for the 2nd half of the game). Kentucky would go on to the Final 4 that season, but it would be 12 years before they would make it that far in the tournament.
Since the series resumed, they have met twice in the NCAA Tournament; Kentucky would defeat Louisville 69-61 in the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans en route to their 8th national title. Louisville would win the national title the next season, but 2014 saw Kentucky “avenge” Louisville’s title with a 74-69 victory in the 2014 Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. Overall, Kentucky leads the series 33-15. Louisville has never won as many as 3 in a row; Kentucky’s longest winning streak in the series is 5 games.
One common thread in the series is Rick Pitino. Pitino would help rescue Kentucky from NCAA sanctions levied against Kentucky in the 1980s; he would go on to 3 Final 4 appearances with Kentucky along with the national championship in 1996. He would have a 6-2 record against Louisville in his Kentucky tenure. After a brief attempt at coaching in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, he surprised everyone in basketball circles when he replaced Denny Crum as the head coach at Louisville. In his first 8 seasons at Louisville, Pitino compiled a 4-4 record against his old employer. Once John Calipari became head coach at Kentucky, the Wildcats have dominated the series by winning 7 out of their last 8 matchups, including the 2 aforementioned wins in the NCAA Tournament.
Finally, you can also click here to read Jon Teitel’s interview with Rory Owen Delaney (who filmed the documentary The Rivalry: Red v. Blue)
Throwback Thursday – The Bluegrass Rivalry
Click here for Chad Sherwood and David Griggs’ latest Under The Radar Podcast
11 NCAA Championships. This is the combined amount of titles won between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals.
When you think of Kentucky, you think of the flagship state university. 8 NCAA titles, 2 NIT titles, 17 Final Fours, 2,000+ victories and counting, a death penalty (and a near-repeat in the late 1980s), Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and John Calipari. The shadow and mystique of Rupp was so big that even an up-and-coming coaching legend like Paul “Bear” Bryant could not escape it; he would go on to lead Texas A&M and Alabama to prominence.
When you think of Louisville, you look at the state’s largest city and urban area. The Cardinals not only have 3 NCAA titles under their name, they also have 10 Final Fours, an NIT title and also an NAIA title to their name. Denny Crum, Darrell Griffith, Pervis Ellison, and Rick Pitino.
There are 3 periods that divide the series – the first era took place between 1913 and 1922. Kentucky would win 7 out of the first 9 matchups. Of course, this was also an era in which scoring 38 points (UK won 38-14 in 1922) represented an offensive explosion.
The 2nd period lasted between 1922 and 1983. Only 3 meetings would take place, all of which would take place in a tournament setting. The first meeting actually took place in New York – Kentucky won their first NCAA Championship in 1948 with wins over Michigan, Holy Cross and Baylor; Louisville won the NAIA title that year with wins over South Dakota State, Emporia State (KS), Beloit (WI), Xavier (OH) and Indiana State. Not surprisingly, Kentucky would trounce Louisville 91-57 in this battle of national title winners. The only other meetings took place in the NCAA Tournament – Kentucky would win 79-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1951; Louisville would win 76-61 in the Round of 16 in 1959. Another thing in common between those 3 games – neither one took place in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The 1951 game was played at NC State’s campus; the 1959 contest took place at Northwestern’s campus.
Perhaps the most memorable game between the two teams took place in 1983 (click here for the pregame and game coverage). Like the last 3 games player between UK and UofL, this game was also played outside the commonwealth on Tennessee’s campus. Even this game almost didn’t happen; it took a buzzer-beater by Louisville to knock off Arkansas (who, ironically, was coached by future UK head coach Eddie Sutton). Kentucky secured their spot with an upset win over interstate rival Indiana. CBS also did a nice pregame piece showing Kentucky’s aversion to playing Louisville in almost a quarter-century, but the national audience was treated to an overtime thriller that saw Louisville defeat Kentucky 80-68 to clinch a Final Four appearance for the 2nd straight year. Even a loss to Houston a week later could not dampen the spirits of Louisville fans.
But thanks to this game and some “encouragement” from then-governor John Brown and the Kentucky legislature, Kentucky-Louisville finally became a fixture game in the regular season. It has traditionally been played on the first weekend after Christmas, but this has not always been the case. The 1983-84 season actually had a double feature; Kentucky would win the regular-season meeting in Lexington and also in the NCAA Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena as well (you can click here for the 1st half of that game and here for the 2nd half of the game). Kentucky would go on to the Final 4 that season, but it would be 12 years before they would make it that far in the tournament.
Since the series resumed, they have met twice in the NCAA Tournament; Kentucky would defeat Louisville 69-61 in the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans en route to their 8th national title. Louisville would win the national title the next season, but 2014 saw Kentucky “avenge” Louisville’s title with a 74-69 victory in the 2014 Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. Overall, Kentucky leads the series 33-15. Louisville has never won as many as 3 in a row; Kentucky’s longest winning streak in the series is 5 games.
One common thread in the series is Rick Pitino. Pitino would help rescue Kentucky from NCAA sanctions levied against Kentucky in the 1980s; he would go on to 3 Final 4 appearances with Kentucky along with the national championship in 1996. He would have a 6-2 record against Louisville in his Kentucky tenure. After a brief attempt at coaching in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, he surprised everyone in basketball circles when he replaced Denny Crum as the head coach at Louisville. In his first 8 seasons at Louisville, Pitino compiled a 4-4 record against his old employer. Once John Calipari became head coach at Kentucky, the Wildcats have dominated the series by winning 7 out of their last 8 matchups, including the 2 aforementioned wins in the NCAA Tournament.
Finally, you can also click here to read Jon Teitel’s interview with Rory Owen Delaney (who filmed the documentary The Rivalry: Red v. Blue)