Kentucky vs. Louisville: Best games from the last decade of the rivalry

By Joey Loose | Dec 27, 2018

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 31: Anthony Davis #23 of the Kentucky Wildcats and Gorgui Dieng #10 of the Louisville Cardinals go after the opening tip to start the National Semifinal game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on March 31, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 21: Rick Pitino the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals and John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats talk before the game at KFC YUM! Center on December 21, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

We’re a few days away from the annual Kentucky-Louisville match-up. What have been some of their most exciting games in recent memory?

On December 29th, Kentucky and Louisville will renew their rivalry and meet up at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. The two in-state rivals have met yearly since 1983, with the game rotating between the two home arenas.

There have been some very impressive teams put forth by both Kentucky and Louisville and this is always a great and exciting game. There have been several meetups in the NCAA Tournament and many games where one or both teams were in the Top-5.

Kentucky leads the overall series 35 to 16 and got the better of Louisville during last year’s tough rebuilding effort, the first blowout the series has seen in many years. This will also be the 13th straight match-up where at least one of the teams is ranked, though Kentucky has won 9 of the last 11 regardless of which teams seems to be playing better basketball. The home team has won the last three games, but anything could happen on Saturday.

For now, we’re going to take a closer look at the five most exciting matchups of the last decade.

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