Kentucky vs. Louisville: The Rivalry

On Saturday at high noon, the University of Kentucky Wildcats met the University of Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena for the annual men’s basketball matchup. The Sporting News recently ranked the rivalry the second best college basketball rivalry in the country, with Duke/North Carolina being in the top spot. Of course that’s debatable, but there’s no doubt there isn’t a more intense annual game in college basketball. Unlike the Tobacco Road rivalry, when the Cats and the Cards meet, it’s a one time affair… for all the marbles.

Since the Wildcats and the Cardinals began the annual series in the mid 80s, the games have often been the highlight college basketball season, especially in the Commonwealth. With Joe B. Hall on one side and Hall of Famer Denny Crum on the other, the Battle for the Bluegrass started off with two outstanding coaches that continues today with John Calipari and Rick Pitino. With Calipari and Pitino at the helm, the rivalry has reached heights that, for my money have made it the best in the country.

Since Coach Cal arrived in Lexington, he has elevated the Kentucky program to a level that we haven’t seen before. He’s active on social media (more Twitter followers than any other coach). He’s recruited at a ridiculously high level. He’s made Big Blue Madness a wildly entertaining, over the top special event that indulges in the superiority complex of the Big Blue Nation. And he’s only delivered a national title, a NCAA runnerup and has put the Cats in the Final Four in four of the last five years, only matched by John Wooden and Duke’s Coach K. Calipari is delivering on and off the court.

With Calipari in Lexington setting the college basketball on fire, UK’s old coach, Rick Pitino was in Louisville and faced a difficult decision. The Cardinals and Pitino weren’t bringing in the McDonald’s All Americans that the Cats were. And the ongoing Big Brother/Little Brother dynamic is always at play in the minds of college basketball fans in Kentucky. Pitino used that Little Brother mindset and brought in kids with chips on their shoulders that might have been overlooked by other schools during recruiting. And the formula worked as the Cards reached the 2012 Final Four and the 2013 NCAA title.

Never before in the rivalry have both teams been this good for this long. After a dull in the series, with the game sometimes regulated to ESPN2, the game is once again a primetime matchup. It’s now customary that both teams are ranked when the teams meet. It’s not unusual for both teams to be on the shortlist of Final Four contenders. The only thing preventing the Cards from having more hardware has been the Cats. Sure that makes me smile as BBN guy, but it shows just how good these teams have been.

Red or Blue, this Bluegrass matchup is the best in the country. It’s everything you want out of a rivalry. And as the Cats 75-73 win showed, both coaches can put their teams in a position win. Whether it’s missing a starter due to injury or dealing with in game foul trouble, you’re not going to find better in game tacticians than Coaches Calipari and Pitino. And for that, we should all be grateful.