The Kentucky vs. Louisville basketball rivalry will be special this season

The Kentucky Wildcats rivalry against the Louisville Cardinals used to be one of the best rivalry games in college hoops, but as the Louisville program fell on hard times, so did this marquee matchup.

This has led to the rivalry game falling off the map of sorts, but last year, in year one under Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, it was a great game in Rupp Arena, with the Wildcats coming out on top.

Now, this season the Wildcats will have to make the trip to the KFC Yum Center for this game, and it will be played on November 11th, which is the earliest this game has ever been.

Heading into the 2025-26 season, both Kentucky and Louisville are looking like top ten teams, as both Pope and Kelsey did an excellent job in the transfer portal.

These are two teams that don't like one another very much, and without question, the same can be said about the fan bases. College basketball fans forget how good this rivalry is when both teams are competitive, but they will be reminded of this during the Pope vs. Kelsey era.

The two best rivalries in college hoops are Kentucky vs. Louisville and Duke vs. North Carolina, and Big Blue Nation loves that this game is back in the conversation for best rivalries in college hoops.

Kentucky's matchup in November with Louisville will be one of the best games this season in college basketball with a Final Four type of feel, thanks to the talent of these two teams.

Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey have returned the Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry to its former glory.