< Previous8 @KentuckyMBB Battle of the BluegrassBluegrassBluegrassBluegrass Bluegrass Kentucky’s Top 10 Wins Over Louisville in the Last 40 Years By Corey Price UK Sports Network/ UK Athletics Public Relations & Athletics Communications@UKSportsNetwork 9 ssssssss ss10 @KentuckyMBB Forty Years of the Bluegrass Battle Let us take a trip back in time, to Saturday, March 26, 1983. Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is dominat- ing the radio airwaves as the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single. The night before, during a performance of the song for a Motown Records 25th anniversary celebra- tion, Michael introduces the world to his famous dance, the moonwalk. Peo- ple flock to the big screen to see “Spring Break”, the highest-grossing film in U.S. theaters that week. On the small screen, CBS’ “Dallas” is the top-rated TV show in America. Regarding tech- nology, IBM released their second personal comput- er, the PC/XT, just 18 days earlier. Future Kentucky men’s basketball star Patrick Sparks was a mere nine days old. At the Stokely Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, two men’s basketball programs with a proud and tradi- tion-rich history met on the hardwood, Kentucky, and Louisville. Although only 75 miles separate these two schools, it took the randomness of the NCAA Tournament to put these teams on the court together for the first time in 24 years, when they previously met in the 1959 NCAA Tournament. With a trip to the Final Four on the line, it was the Cardinals who came out on top, defeating the Wildcats 80-68 in overtime. Although Kentucky lost, it was the catalyst to the renewal of one of the biggest rivalries in men’s college basket- ball. With the 40th anniversary of that game coming up this season, let us look back at 10 of the best wins for Kentucky in this rival- ry since that fateful day in 1983. March 22, 1984 (NCAA Tournament) (Rupp Arena) It did not take long for Kentucky to have a chance at revenge against Louisville for that 1983 NCAA Tournament loss, meeting the Cards in the tournament the very next season. The Wildcats were ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and the No. 1 seed in the Mid- east Region, while the Cardinals were not ranked and the No. 5 seed in the region. The two teams met in the regional semifinals with a trip to the regional finals on the line. The first 20 minutes of the game belonged to Louisville, with the Cardinals clinging to a four-point lead at the half, 36-32. Louisville still had the lead about halfway through the second half, but a 10-0 run by the Wildcats pushed them ahead to an eight-point lead that they would never relinquish, defeat- ing the Cardinals 72-67. Kentucky used hot shooting to contribute to the victory, making 50.9% of its field goals and 80% of its free- throws. Juniors Dicky Beal and Jim Master both led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points. Kentucky would eventually make the Final Four, losing to Georgetown in the national semifinals. December 27, 1986 (Freedom Hall) Louisville was riding high, entering the 1986-1987 season as the defending national champions, but Kentucky brought the Car- dinals back down to reality quickly when the Wildcats came to Freedom Hall. The Wildcats were ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll entering the game while Louisville was not ranked. Kentucky was not intimidated by the defending champs, leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, taking a 10-point lead into halftime. As well as the Wildcats played in the first half, they took their play to a whole new level in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 47-23 in the final 20 minutes to roll to an im- pressive 85-51 win, tied for the largest margin of victory by either team in the histo- ry of the rivalry. The 3-point line was introduced to col- lege basketball that sea- son, and the Wildcats took advantage of the new rule, outscoring Louisville 33-3 in the game from behind the arc. The talk of the game was all about Kentucky’s freshman sensation, Rex Chapman. In his seventh collegiate game played, Chapman was the best player on the floor, leading all scorers with 26 points. December 12, 1987 (Rupp Arena) Kentucky was the top- ranked team in the coun- try heading into its annual battle with Louisville, who was not ranked entering the game. In the first half the Wildcats looked like the No. 1 team in the country, racing out to a command- ing 16-point lead. The Cardinals cut a little into the lead, with Kentucky leading by 13 points at the half. But Louisville didn’t fold coming out of the locker room, mounting a furious comeback, and took a one-point lead with 39 seconds left on a Pervis Elli- son short baseline jumper. Then, a hero in the rivalry emerged. With five seconds left, the Wildcats’ Ed Davender took a shot from eight feet away and missed. Three separate players attempt to get a hand on the ball and tip it up, and on a second attempt at the ball, Kentucky’s Cedric Jenkins tips in the ball for the game-winning basket with just two seconds left, turning the home crowd at Rupp Arena into pure pandemonium. Amazingly that was the only two points that Jenkins scored the entire game, so he certainly saved the best for last. Sophomore Rex Chapman led the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points. December 29, 2001 (Rupp Arena) On paper, this game should not have gathered much attention, with Kentucky be- ing ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll entering the game, while Louisville was not ranked. But this was one of the most anticipated games in the history of the rivalry. Rick Pitino was entering his first season as the head coach Jim Master scored 15 points in UK's 72- 67 win over Louisville in the 1984 NCAA Regional Semifinals.@UKSportsNetwork 11 of Louisville, and he was returning to Rupp Arena for the first time since leaving Ken- tucky in 1997 to become the head coach for the Boston Celtics. Needless to say, the Wildcat fans were eagerly awaiting this game. Kentucky struggled throughout the first 20 minutes and led by just four points at halftime. But the Wildcats came out firing in the second half, using both a 12-0 and 15-0 run to have their lead swell to as many as 28 points, eventually defeating the Cardinals by 20, 82-62. Senior Tayshaun Prince led Kentucky in scoring with 18 points. There was also a very special moment prior to the game, when Kentucky officially dedicat- ed the court in honor of recently deceased radio legend Cawood Ledford, naming it “Cawood’s Court.” December 18, 2004 (Freedom Hall) There was plenty of hype entering this game, with both Kentucky, No. 9, and Lou- isville, No. 13, ranked in the Top 15 of the AP Poll heading into their rivalry game for the first time since December 31, 1996. The Wildcats didn’t live up to their Top 10 bill- ing in the first half, struggling with just five made field goals and scoring a meager 16 points, trailing the Cardinals by 16 points. Louisville’s lead was still at 16 points with 11 minutes left in the game when the Wild- cats started to chip away at the lead. With Kentucky trailing by one point with less than a second left, another hero emerged in this rivalry. Junior transfer Patrick Sparks was fouled on a 3-point attempt in the cor- ner of the court with just 0.6 seconds left. In a pressure-packed situation, Sparks calmly knocked down all three free throws to solid- ify the comeback, defeating Louisville 60-58. The 16-point deficit is tied for the Wildcats’ larg- est halftime deficit overcome in a win in school history. Sparks led all scor- ers in the game with 25 points. December 17, 2005 (Rupp Arena) Kentucky, ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll enter- ing the game, had a difficult task, facing a Louisville squad that was ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll. This was the first time that the Wild- cats faced a Cardinal team ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll since the 1983 NCAA Tour- nament. The Wildcats didn’t let Louisville’s ranking phase them though, dominating the game from start to finish. The Wildcats came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, which led to a 15-point lead over the Cardinals at halftime. It was more of the same in the sec- ond half, with Kentucky’s lead ballooning to as many as 23 points halfway through the last 20 minutes. The Wildcats took their foot off the gas and cruised to a 73-61 upset win over Louisville, an eventual Final Four team. This was the first time in the rivalry that Kentucky defeated the Cardinals when Louisville was ranked higher than the Wild- cats in the AP Poll. It was also the first time that Kentucky defeated the Cardinals when Louisville was ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll. The star of the game for the Wildcats was freshman, and Louisville native, Rajon Rondo. He led all scorers in the game with 25 points, a career high for him, to go along with seven assists. March 31, 2012 (NCAA Tournament) (Superdome) The Wildcats and Cardinals had met in the NCAA Tournament twice since the rival- ry renewed in 1983 prior to the 2011-2012 season. But the stage had never been bigger, and the stakes had never been higher than their meeting in New Orleans on this night. Kentucky, ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and a 1 seed, took on Louisville, ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and a 4 seed, in the nation- al semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, and a spot in the national championship game on the line. The Wildcats controlled the first half, leading by as many as 10 points, and headed into the locker room leading by seven points, 35-28. Kentucky’s lead grew to 13 points, its largest of the game, about four minutes into the second half. But the Cardinals never gave up, clawing all the way back to tie the game at 49 with about nine minutes left. The Wildcats were able to pull away though, outscoring Louisville 20- 12 over the final nine minutes to defeat the Cardinals 69-61 and a national title game berth. There was no doubt on this night who the best player on the floor was. Kentucky’s freshman superstar Anthony Davis did a little bit of everything, leading the team in points (18), rebounds (14), and blocks (five). The Wildcats would win the national cham- pionship two nights later against Kansas. March 28, 2014 (NCAA Tournament) (Lucas Oil Stadium) For the second time in three seasons, the Wildcats and the Cardinals played their rivalry in the NCAA Tournament. But Kentucky, on paper, probably had its most difficult challenge. The Wildcats were not ranked in the AP Poll and a No. 8 seed in the Midwest Region, while Louisville was ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll and a No. 4 seed in the region. The teams were play- ing in the regional semifinals with a berth in the regional finals at stake. Kentucky couldn’t have scripted a worse start to the game, trailing by as many as 13 points with Freshman Aaron Harrison hit a 3-point shot with 39 seconds remaining in the game to give UK a 70-68 lead over No. 5-ranked Louisville in the 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals.12 @KentuckyMBB less than eight minutes elapsed. But the Wildcats slowly and methodically chipped away at the deficit, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to just one point late in the first half before entering the locker room trailing Louisville by three points, 34-31. Kentucky was able to hang around for the majority of the second half, but the Cardinals had their largest lead of the final 20 minutes at seven points with 4:33 remaining. The Wildcats then went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game since the opening basket with 1:26 left. The Cardinals quickly retook the lead before the first of many clutch moments for a particular Kentucky player in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Freshman Aaron Harrison, with 39 seconds left, hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead for good. Kentucky added four more free throws in the final seconds to upset Lou- isville 74-69. This remains the only time in the rivalry that an unranked Kentucky team defeated a Louisville team ranked in the AP Poll. A trio of freshmen, Harrison, Dakari Johnson, and Julius Randle, tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points. The Wildcats would eventually advance to the national championship game, losing to UConn. December 27, 2014 (KFC Yum! Center) The historical 2014- 2015 Kentucky squad faced a very difficult road test when it came into the KFC Yum! Center to take on Louisville. For just the second time in the rival- ry’s history, both teams were ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll heading into the game, with the Wildcats ranked No. 1 and the Cardinals ranked No. 4. Not surprisingly, the first half was close throughout and a defen- sive battle, with Kentucky matching its largest lead of the first 20 minutes at four points heading into the locker room, 22- 18. In the second half, Kentucky’s lead was cut to just two points with 16:13 left in the game. Then, in a span of about 10 minutes, the Wildcats outscored Louisville 24- 14 to take their largest lead of the game at 12 points with 4:43 remain- ing. Kentucky would not allow any comeback ef- fort for Louisville, defeat- ing the Cardinals by eight points, 58-50. The Wild- cats’ defense was suffo- cating, allowing Louis- ville to make just 25.9% of its field goal attempts. It was Kentucky’s smallest player who had the big- gest impact on the game. Freshman Tyler Ulis, at 5-9, led the team in scor- ing with 14 points. December 28, 2019 (Rupp Arena) For the seventh time in the rivalry’s history, Kentucky was facing a Louisville team that was ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll. Entering the game, the Wildcats were ranked No. 19 while the Cardinals were ranked No. 3. Louisville led by as many as four points in the first half, but Kentucky ended the first half with a 9-2 run to take an eight- point lead into halftime, 32-24. The Wild- cats came out on fire, increasing their lead to their largest of the game at 12 points just three minutes into the second half. But the Cardinals didn’t falter, rallying to take their first lead of the second half with 9:38 left in the game. Neither team would lead by more than six points for the remainder of the second half, with Louisville’s Lamarr Kimble making a layup with 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime, tied at 61. In over- time, the Cardinals matched their largest lead of the extra period at three points with 2:22 remaining. Kentucky flipped the switch and blitzed Louisville over the final two minutes of overtime, outscoring the Cardi- nals 13-2, including seven straight points by junior Nick Richards, to upset the Cardi- nals by eight points, 78-70. This was just the second overtime game in the history of the rivalry, and the first since the 1983 NCAA Tournament. This was also the fourth time that a Kentucky team defeated a Louisville team ranked higher than the Wildcats in the AP Poll. Freshman sensation Tyrese Maxey had arguably his best game as a Wildcat on this day, leading all scorers with 27 points, Freshman Tyler Ulis led No. 1 Kentucky to a, 58-50, victory over No. 4 Louisville at the KFC YUM! Center in 2014. The 2019 game was the second overtime game in the history of the rivalry. The Wildcats won, 78-70. Freshman Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 27 points.14 @KentuckyMBB Texas A&M Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m. Saturday January Kansas Lexington, Ky. SEC/Big 12 Challenge | 8 p.m. Saturday January Florida Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. Saturday February Arkansas Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday February Georgia Athens, Ga. Noon Saturday February Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday March Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Saturday March SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 8-12 NCAA Tournament Final Four® Houston | TBA March- April TBA Mississippi State Starkville, Miss. 8:30 p.m. February Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February Florida Gainesville, Fla. 7 p.m. February Auburn Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 9 p.m. Tuesday January South Carolina Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday January Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. Noon Saturday January Georgia Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday January Michigan State Indianapolis Champions Classic | 7 p.m. Tuesday November Howard Lexington, Ky. 6:30 p.m. Monday November Duquesne Lexington, Ky. Friday November Bellarmine Lexington, Ky. TBA Tuesday November Michigan London, England Sunday December Yale Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday December South Carolina St. Lexington, Ky. Thursday November Gonzaga Spokane, Wash. 7:30 p.m. Sunday November North Florida Lexington, Ky. Wednesday November Florida A&M Lexington, Ky. 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