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

3. at #18 Louisville 74, Kentucky 71 (January 4, 2009)

Going back nearly ten years, these two programs were in very different situations. For Kentucky, this was the second and final season under Billy Gillispie, and this season had already been a struggle for the Wildcats. They had lost their season debut at home to VMI and were later blown out by eventual national champion North Carolina. Louisville’s season had also had some bumps with losses to questionable losses to Western Kentucky and UNLV along the way. Neither team was among the elite at this point, but they still gave us an incredible game.

For much of the game, Louisville held a slight lead, though they could never build it to double digits. The Wildcats stayed in the game, pulling to within 3 at the half and never falling out of the action. Jodie Meeks put up 28 points to lead Kentucky, but it would be Louisville that had the last laugh. A 7-0 Kentucky run (all by Meeks) tied the game at 71 with 20 seconds left when Edgar Sosa hit a huge and long 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to give Louisville the hard-fought win. The Cardinals made 11-20 from the 3 but none was as important as that final shot. Sosa’s 18 points and Terrance Williams’ 19 were enough to lead the Cardinals to the rivalry win.

As previously mentioned, this season was the end of the line for Billy Gillispie, as Kentucky would struggle to a .500 finish in SEC play and an NIT bid. This team lost four SEC games at Rupp Arena, but Calipari would turn them around very quickly in the coming years. On the other side, Louisville’s season took off after this point, a 16-2 Big East regular season and a conference tournament title. They were a 1-seed but fell in the Elite Eight to a tough Michigan State squad, a few days after blowing out Arizona. They’d get to the Final Four a few years later. Despite how different these seasons ended up, anything can happen in this rivalry.