Basketball is an institution in the state of Kentucky.  The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are routinely among the best teams in the NCAA.  Murray State, Western Kentucky, the ABA’s defunct Kentucky Colonels, and many other programs all play a part in making Kentucky one of the homes of basketball.  Still, UK vs. U of L in terms of who has better facilities, better recruits, better coaches, and more importantly who wins when these two teams play head-to-head is the main course of basketball within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

A Few Rules for the Rivalry Emerged in the Early Years when the Game was the Dream Game

Rule 1 – Acrimony Between Fans, Coaches, Players, Kids at Bus Stops Waiting to go to School, etc.

Rule 2 – UK thought it was better than U of L

Rule 3 – U of L Pressed and Ran while UK played a Slower Style of Power Basketball

Rule 4 – UK was Considered by Nearly Everyone to be the More Corrupt and More Likely to Cheat of the Two Programs

Rule 5 – Home Court Meant a Huge Advantage

Rule 6 – Football did not Factor into the Equation 

In 1983, Louisville was the #1 seed in the region and got to play Kentucky for a spot in the Final Four.  Kentucky had refused to play Louisville for decades and acrimony existed between the two teams and two fanbases.  Louisville won that game by 12 in overtime.  Kentucky built a solid first-half lead, but Louisville’s zone press wore Kentucky down.  When regulation ended, UK’s legs were gone and U of L proved any point it needed to in claiming parody with their blue-blooded neighbor to the east.  Of course, Louisville won the 1980 NCAA title and reached the Final Four in 1982 so this win hammered home a point that should have been clear already.  U of L had become an elite team in college hoops long before UK started playing them.  As a young UK fan, I did not see Louisville’s prominence as clearly as I do looking back on it now.

In 1983, all of these rules were in place for their basketball rivalry.  In 2020, I don’t think much remains from the original circumstances.  I will take each rule one by one and see what is left of the rivalry.

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Rule 1 – Acrimony Between Fans, Coaches, Players, Kids at Bus Stops Waiting to go to School, etc. 

These two guys did not like each other no matter how much H&S Hardware paid them to look that way

The acrimony between fans is a given, but I don’t think it is as intense as it was at various stages of the rivalry.  Louisville’s annual tilts with Duke, UNC, and UVA make their ACC schedule much more daunting than concerns about Memphis (then Memphis State) in the Metro Conference.  Kentucky is not the only game against a traditional NCAA blue blood on U of L’s schedule.  U of L lost to UK last year in the YUM! Center but also posted wins at UNC and over Michigan State.  Kentucky plays a slate of interesting teams on neutral floors every season as well.  Fans can revel or suffer in those games as well as their annual match-up with their in-state archrival.

The coaches and players at each school take this game seriously.  Denny Crum and Tubby Smith’s low-key demeanor kept the coaching acrimony at a lower level than today, but John Calipari and Chris Mack have not had any dust-ups (yet).  There has been no Eddie Sutton describing Louisville as Kentucky’s “little brother.”  Rick Pitino took turns rattling the cages of each fanbase with lines such as “Did she order Crum cake?” and “the best Italian restaurant in Lexington is the Outback Steakhouse.”  There is also no Rick Pitino-John Calipari one-ups-manship either.

When I grew up in Louisville, there were many divisions at recess or bus stops based upon one’s rooting interests.  I don’t doubt that this still happens, but I am guessing fistfights are not part of this equation.  Kids looking at screens have some advantages I guess.

The Verdict – Rule 1 is Still in Place but in a Diminished State

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Rule 2 – UK thought it was better than U of L

Again, some UK fans probably think this, but U of L has been ranked #1 during the 2019-20 season despite prostitution and paying players scandals.  UK can hang its hat on a commanding 28-12 modern series lead.  Yet, sane fans have to see that both programs are loaded with ingredients for fielding good teams every year.

The Verdict – Rule 2 exists among Zealots (and there are plenty of them), but the Existence of the Yearly Home and Home Game is Proof that the Programs are on Similar Ground 

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Rule 3 – U of L Pressed and Ran while UK played a Slower Style of Power Basketball

After the initial loss in 1983 in which Denny Crum’s press wore UK down, UK beat U of L twice during the 1983-84 season.  UK won a regular season and NCAA Sweet 16 game in Rupp Arena vs. Louisville.  UK ran a twin towers offense with a slowish big man in Mel Turpin alongside the more agile Sam Bowie.  U of L pressed and ran.  UK had big strong players in the paint.

The story remained true.  UK was power basketball even if new coach Eddie Sutton switched to a man-to-man defense that attacked passing lanes while U of L ran and pressed.

Then the three-point shot entered college basketball

Eddie Sutton in his second season started to shift this rule of the rivalry.  UK beat Louisville by over 30 on their home court in large part due to three-point shooting from Rex Chapman, Derick Miller, and James Blackmon.  Denny Crum who played an uptempo style and was seen as more cutting edge than Joe B. Hall or Eddie Sutton prior to the three-point line being added to NCAA hoops.  Crum complained mightily about the rule change and seemed a bit more cranky than cutting edge.  Still, Sutton was not exactly the new wave of basketball.

Then Kentucky Hired Rick Pitino

Rick Pitino’s pressing and three-point shooting UK squads reversed the narrative about Kentucky being a ball control and power basketball team.  Crum took a lot of heat from his fans over UK’s utilization of the three-point shot.  Pitino was in his late 30s when he arrived at UK and came from the NBA as a fairly successful coach of the New York Knicks.

Then Louisville Hired Rick Pitino

In a sense, this gave Louisville a cutting edge feel.  Pitino had great success at Louisville, but his teams’ successes tended to come from tenacious defense and extreme conditioning more so than from an overpowering offense.  Pitino was older and his time with the Boston Celtics did not go as well as his stint with the New York Knicks.  Pitino was still one of the best NCAA coaches, but he was not initiating a paradigm shift in college hoops at U of L.

John Calipari Embraced the One-and-Done Path to the NBA

Calipari is 11-2* vs. U of L

Kentucky is one of two programs, the other being Duke, that attempts to grab as many first-round NBA picks out of high school as possible.  Kentucky made this move first.  So whether this seems innovative to fans who have to learn new rosters each season, Kentucky is viewed as innovative by highschool prospects.

The Verdict – This Rule is Dead and Probably has been since the 1989-90 Season when UK Hoisted so Many Three-Point Shots

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Rule 4 – UK was Considered by Nearly Everyone to be the More Corrupt and More Likely to Cheat of the Two Programs

This is a depressing analysis so I will keep it brief.  Eddie Sutton and his staff brought NCAA allegations upon UK that it paid recruits and doctored ACT scores to get players to Lexington.  Eddie Sutton managed to coach one more season posting UK’s only losing season in the past 80+ years (measuring from 2019).  UK’s woes under Sutton reconfirmed earlier perceptions of UK being a program that often ran afoul the NCAA.

Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith avoided any scandals at UK, but the perception of the two programs was not seriously altered.  When UK hired John Calipari in 2009, its reputation plus Calipari’s NCAA troubles at UMass and Memphis likely made rule #4 even more firmly felt.

Then U of L won it all only to lose it all.  

In the 2012-13 season, Rick Pitino won at the YUM! to move to 1-4 vs. Calipari as the UK coach.  Louisville won the 2013 NCAA title.  Both fanbases should have been fat and happy given that UK won the 2012 NCAA title.  Prior to the 2015-16 season, U of L had an allegation made by a madam that she was hired to help lure recruits to U of L by providing exotic dancers and prostitution for players and recruits.  U of L self-imposed a post-season ban.  Prior to the 2017-18 NCAA basketball season, allegations of U of L being involved in paying recruits while on probation came to light.  This led to Rick Pitino’s termination as the U of L men’s basketball coach.  The NCAA made U of L vacate their 2013 NCAA title and 2012 Final Four appearances due to the prostitution scandal.

The Verdict – No matter what Calipari’s reputation is or what UK has done in its past: prostitution in dorms to lure recruits permanently ended Rule 4

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Rule 5 – Home Court Meant a Huge Advantage 

This rule is still in place for UK, but U of L has losing records in both the Yum! and Freedom Hall vs. UK.  UK is 16-4 in Rupp Arena, 3-2 in the Yum! and 7-6 in Freedom Hall against Louisville.  UK is 1-0 in New Orleans and 1-0 in Indianapolis vs. Louisville while Louisville is 1-0 in Knoxville vs. UK.  The modern series is 28-12 in favor of Kentucky.  UK is 3-1 in NCAA tournament games and 2-1 in neutral court NCAA tournament games.

Eddie Sutton drew first blood on the road in the series.  Entering the 1986-87 season U of L was the defending NCAA champion, and UK had a young roster that lost an exhibition game to Yugoslavia before that was something one might expect.  To this point, UK was 3-0 in Rupp Arena in modern games vs. Louisville but 0-1 on a neutral floor (Knoxville) and 0-1 in Freedom Hall.  UK took a 4-2 advantage in the modern rivalry by winning on the road.  Rex Chapman, James Blackmon, and Derick Miller hit a lot of threes and led UK to a win vs. the defending NCAA champions on their home court.  This game ended with chants of “Go Big Blue!” in U of L’s home of Freedom Hall.

The Verdict – UK has won 80% of its games vs. U of L in Rupp Arena.  U of L won 46% of its games vs. UK in Freedom Hall and 40% of its games vs. UK in the YUM! Center to this point.  Rule 5 is currently only in place for UK.  Also, U of L may petition to have some games vs. UK played in Knoxville. 

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Rule 6 – Football did not Factor into the Equation 

Kentucky is a Hoops First State, but it is not a Hoops Only State

In 1983, UK fans could remember some big win totals and big troubles under football coach Fran Curci.  Jerry Claiborne ran a clean football program that won a good share of games and led the NCAA in academic achievement.  Claiborne with today’s 12-game regular-season schedule and expanded bowl schedule would have likely reached 7 bowl games in 8 seasons.  Claiborne did take Kentucky to two bowl games.

In 1983, U of L football was not successful.  In 1985, U of L hired Howard Schnellenberger and began a remarkable program building process.  UK and U of L have played an annual football game since 1994.  U of L leads the modern series with UK 15-11.  U of L has won the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl after nearly discontinuing its football program in the early 1980s.  U of L also produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson.  Since hiring Schnellenberger U of L has posted notable wins over Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, Florida State, and West Virginia.

Kentucky’s football program has been rockier than U of L’s since 1990.  Bill Curry ran a clean program that managed to win 1/3 of its games over 7 seasons.  Hal Mumme and Mike Leach introduced the Air Raid offense to UK fans and the NCAA world.  Despite this offense leading to other permutations and totally changing high school and college football (and it is starting to change the NFL), UK landed on probation after reaching 2 bowl games in Mumme’s 4 years.  Tim Couch was a Heisman finalist and #1 NFL draft pick, but Mumme’s era left no lasting impact on the program as UK is not known as the birthplace of the Air Raid or spread.

UK has gone to 9 bowl games in the past 14 seasons winning 5 of those bowl games.  None of those bowl-bound teams ran the Air Raid or its successor formations.  UK did defeat a BCS national champion LSU team in the regular season, broke its long-losing streaks to the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators and won bowl games over Penn State, Clemson, and Florida State.

The Verdict – Football is a major consideration for both fanbases.  Football contributes to the UK-U of L rivalry, but it also gives fanbases something else to focus on than NCAA hoops for 12 months.  For instance, U of L lost a heart-pounding overtime game on December 27, 2019 in Rupp Arena only to win a bowl game in Nashville on December 30, 2019.  It is hard for a fanbase to be too down over one basketball game if wins, losses, and recruiting in another sport are also occupying the mind of a given fanbase.  Had UK lost to Louisville in overtime, its December 31st bowl win over Virginia Tech would have also soothed the fans.  Rule #6 is completely gone   

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In conclusion, very little of what made the 1983 Elite 8 game between UK and U of L so important is still in place.  Acrimony exists but has declined, only a fool would not see U of L as an elite NCAA program, no one really presses and runs in NCAA basketball any longer, both programs are viewed by many as being corrupt, only one school enjoys a helpful home-court edge, and football is a major concern for both schools and fanbases now.

Why is UK vs. U of L still a great game in 2019-20 if the 1982-83 dynamics are nearly all gone?

I think the point of the home-and-home annual series was to act as a pressure release valve.  Adding an annual football game in 1994 added a second pressure release valve.  If these schools did not play each other, co-workers and family members with divergent rooting interests would be caught up in a never-ending argument of “what if” scenarios while hoping NCAA match-makers and bowl selections would create a dream game in basketball or football.

This game is not a great game because one school refuses to play the other.  It is a great game because each school has a lot in common and fights for the same oxygen.  Kentucky and Louisville’s men’s basketball teams sell a lot of tickets to regular-season games regardless of the opponent.  Both fanbases produce good ratings for those who broadcast college basketball.

There are only five to ten schools that really care about college basketball.  UK and U of L are two of those schools.  Playing makes sense and since both fanbases care, the game takes on a lot of regular-season meaning.  In 1985-86, UK beat U of L only to see Louisville go on to win the 1986 NCAA title.  In 1997-98, U of L beat UK only to see Kentucky go on to win the 1998 NCAA title.  The NCAA basketball regular season has gotten longer and less meaningful over my time watching the sport.  It is nice that this game remains important, but I am glad not to have fistfights over it like I did in 1984.

Would any fan trade a NCAA Title for a Regular Season Win – NO!  But Regular Season Games can be Important to Fans

*U of L vacated its wins from the 2012-13 season including a win over UK.