Kentucky Basketball: Rivalry With UNC Ending Soon?

Kentucky basketball may not play the North Carolina Tar Heels in the regular season again for quite some time. Find out more.

Few teams are as iconic in the world of college basketball as the Kentucky Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Kentucky basketball is as consistent a program as any, with North Carolina being one of the few schools that rival it.

Unfortunately, Kentucky and North Carolina may stop playing one another in the very near future.

Any time two legendary college basketball programs play, there’s a buzz in the air. It generates revenue for the networks, interest in the sport, and hype for the players on the respective teams.

During a recent appearance on Taking Advantage with Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg, Williams stated that it’s unlikely the UK-UNC rivalry would be ending soon (h/t John Clay of Kentucky.com).

"“My feeling right now is to play our conference schedule, play one exempt event where you have really good teams and other than that play home games to help out your revenue, help out your budget.”Katz asked if that means the UK-UNC game would go away.“Oh yeah, the way I’m looking at it now,” Williams answered. “Why do I need to do that?”"

That’s a disappointing development.

Kentucky and North Carolina first played in 1924, which speaks for itself. There haven’t been many sustained series played between these two schools, but there have been some instant classics.

Perhaps the most recent classic was December 3, 2011 when Kentucky escaped with a 73-72 victory.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the charge during that one-point win with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Davis saved the win with a critical block in the closing seconds as Kentucky won one of its many signature games.

The Wildcats, of course, went on to reach and win the 2012 National Championship Game with a cast of freshmen.

must read: Kentucky has renewed its agreement to participate in The Champions Classic

Here’s hoping this rivalry doesn’t end.