The most recent version of one among school basketball’s most intense rivalries will characteristic a High 12 showdown, as Kentucky travels to Louisville.
There will likely be a home disturbance at My Previous Kentucky Residence on Tuesday night time.
Certainly one of school basketball’s extra intense rivalries will stage its newest as one among three matchups between ranked groups: the ninth-ranked College of Kentucky Wildcats will search to proceed their latest dominance of the No. 12 College of Louisville Cardinals, which is able to host the 58th all-time assembly between the Bluegrass State adversaries.
UK, which has gained all however three of the previous 17 get-togethers (together with two showdowns within the NCAA Event), will have interaction in the one true highway sport on its non-conference slate. The Wildcats gained every of their first two video games to open this season, downing Nicholls 77-51 in its opener final Tuesday earlier than dealing with enterprise with a 107-59 determination over Valparaiso three days later.
Within the latter sport, true freshman Malachi Moreno led the way in which with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench whereas all 5 Lexington starters reached double-figures in scoring. Regardless of shedding prime SEC 3-point shooter Koby Brea and main rebounder Amari Williams to commencement, the Wildcats retained prime scorer Otega Oweh, who earned 28 factors and eight rebounds over the primary two video games. The Wildcats can even have head coach Mark Pope in tow, because the second-year blue boss managed to keep away from jury responsibility thanks partly to the commemoration of Veterans Day.
Kentucky-Louisville Rivalry Recreation Matchup!
On the opposite aspect, Louisville likewise took benefit of a manageable opening schedule to get 12 months two of the Pat Kelsey period off to a very good begin: the Cardinals reached three digits in every of their first two video games, demolishing South Carolina State by a 104-45 ultimate in final week’s opener earlier than following that up with a 106-70 overcome Jackson State on Thursday. Within the newer win over the Tigers, Ryan Conwell sank 4 3-pointers en path to a team-best 19 factors whereas Khani Rooths had a double-double at 16 factors and 10 boards.
The Cardinals misplaced every of their prime three scorers from final season (Terrence Edwards, Chucky Hepburn, Reyne Smith) however restocked with five-star recruit Mikel Brown Jr., contemporary off an All-American marketing campaign at DME Academy in Orlando. UL additionally raided the switch portal with a potential-packed backcourt class, touchdown Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKneely (Virginia), and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State) to a stable basis partly headlined by the return of prime rebounder J’Vonne Hadley.
👀 KENTUCKY TOPS LOUISVILLE 👀
A wire-to-wire win for @KentuckyMBB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/r6vdfPwyLb
— The Subject of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) December 15, 2024
This would be the 58th assembly within the Bluegrass bout, with Kentucky main the set 40-17 (together with 4-2 within the NCAA Event). The Wildcats will go for his or her first four-game profitable streak within the set since 2013-15, having gained final 12 months’s tilt by a 93-85 ultimate. The departed Lamont Butler scored 33 factors on an ideal 10-of-10 night time from the sector whereas Oweh had 17 tallies, the final three approaching a vital and-one that re-established a double-figured lead for the then-No. 5 Wildcats within the ultimate minute. Hepburn scored 26 factors for Louisville in defeat.
This can mark the primary time that the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry has been staged in November since 1993, when UK took a 78-70 win in Lexington.
What: No. 9 Kentucky (2-0) at No. 12 Louisville (2-0)The place: KFC Yum! Middle, Louisville, KYWhen/Watch: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNWho’s Favored: UL -4.5
Wildcat to Watch: Mouhamed Dioubate
To curb the high-flying Cardinal offense, Kentucky must be on the prime of its defensive sport. Touted portal acquisition Jayden Quaintance, contemporary off an All-Defensive workforce tour at Arizona State, seems to be inching towards a countdown towards his blue debut, however he gained’t be obtainable on Tuesday night time.
In his place may very well be fellow addition Dioubate, who moved to Lexington after two years at Alabama. He’ll be big, actually and figuratively, within the quest to maintain Kentucky’s inside prowess alive, as he put up six double-doubles with the Crimson Tide final season.
It was a defensive efficiency that allowed Dioubate to make a nationwide title for himself in Tuscaloosa: following a brutal exhibiting within the Tide’s convention opener in opposition to Oklahoma (during which he was charged with a flagrant foul for tripping then-Sooners star Jeremiah Fears), Dioubate performed shutdown protection on future NBA lottery decide Collin Murray-Boyles, limiting the present Toronto Raptor to 5 factors in a 20-point highway win for the Tide.
Cardinal to Watch: Kasean Pryor
As if this matchup didn’t have sufficient so as to add on its poster, Pryor poured gasoline everywhere in the Bluegrass fireplace following Thursday’s win over Jackson State: per Connor Stanley of On3 Sports activities, Pryor basically assured an finish to Kentucky’s dominance within the rivalry, including a “f*** them” for good measure.
It’s maybe exhausting responsible Pryor for his potential overzealousness: the 6-10 ahead was contemporary off his first motion in slightly below a 12 months after tearing his ACL throughout the latest Battle 4 Atlantis. It’s protected to say that the Cardinals missed Pryor of their final get-together with Kentucky, as they had been outrebounded by 10 in the latest defeat.
Whereas Pryor, who loved a 2023-24 breakout at South Florida earlier than transferring to Louisville, should be getting his land legs again, his presence may give the Cardinals some confidence within the submit. Pryor introduced again his trademark bodily model again in opposition to the Tigers, choosing up six factors, three rebounds, and three fouls in 16 minutes.
Kentucky vs. Louisville isn’t Duke–UNC.
It’s uglier.
It’s funnier.
And we solely get one shot at it yearly.
Right here’s what makes it probably the most intense rivalry in school basketball and why I’m so excited that it’s again:https://t.co/nlbeIozn8R pic.twitter.com/7qrT4ftCE3
— Steven Peake (@StevenPeakeKSR) November 11, 2025
They Mentioned It
“Each single sport is life or loss of life, and we discuss it as a workforce, we talked about in our huddle at shootaround as we speak, as we speak was the most important, hardest, most essential sport that we’ve performed on this brief season to this point, and the identical goes to be true after we go on the highway to play Louisville and that’s each sport. It’s the blessed a part of enjoying at Kentucky that each sport is the most important sport … In-state rivalry video games are all the time enjoyable and thrilling. We will’t wait to get by way of the post-mortem of [the Valparaiso] sport and take what we are able to be taught, and we are going to leap into [Louisville]. It’s only a lovely factor.”—Pope (h/t Jack Pilgrim, On3 Sports activities)
Sure, Otega Oweh has seen Louisville’s trash discuss. No, he doesn’t have a response — that’s coming when the ball is tipped on the KFC Yum! Middle
READ: https://t.co/WLhoyfA97X pic.twitter.com/fCOaVp6ST8
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) November 10, 2025
“What stands out is that they’re superb. They’re very well-coached, they’ve positional measurement, they’re sturdy, they’re athletic, they’re bodily from a protection perspective, they usually’re good of their system from an offensive perspective. In lots of methods, they’re loads like us: they’re gifted, they’re very deep, they play very quick on the offensive finish, they’re superb in transition, and within the halfcourt they execute they usually run their stuff.”—Kelsey on Kentucky (h/t Zack Geoghegan, On3 Sports activities)
Prediction
The great thing about this early-season deal with is that neither aspect is at full energy, however their depth retains issues completely aggressive and on tempo to be one of many extra consequential non-conference video games on the docket. The truth that it brings probably the most intense in-state rivalries again to the forefront of the collegiate creativeness is solely an added bonus.
That makes it all of the tougher to seek out the higher workforce between these two sides, regardless of UK’s latest dominance within the affair. The Cardinals did what they may to up the ante in Kelsey’s second 12 months in cost, and there’s a superb probability to make an announcement at dwelling. At this level, nonetheless, Kentucky’s defensive enhancements might effectively give them the mandatory edge to succeed not solely in an intense rivalry showdown however on an intense additional schedule that can even see ranked challenges from Michigan State, North Carolina, Gonzaga, and St. John’s.
Kentucky 88, Louisville 84
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
