The annual Battle of the Bluegrass game between Louisville men’s basketball and Kentucky now has a date and time set. The heated rivals will renew their annual hardwood battle on New Year’s Eve December 31st at noon in Lexington on CBS. Last season’s showdown was canceled due to Covid issues on Louisville’s team.
The date is set…
— Louisville Men's Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) August 26, 2022
More Info: https://t.co/vWWmo5yazg#GoCards pic.twitter.com/oVIRHBn84q
The Cards defeated the cats in the last game between the two rivals in 2020 62-59 inside the KFC Yum! Center. The leading scorers for that game were David Johnson and Carlik Jones with 17 points and 20 points respectively.
While it is not the first time as part of the rivalry, this will be Coach Kenny Payne’s first time as part of it as a head coach. Previously, he was on the other side as an assistant coach and before that as a player for the Cards. He seeks to gain his first-ever win in the rivalry on his first attempt. It won’t be an easy task going into Rupp and facing his old boss, but Coach Payne will likely have the team ready and it should be competitive.
Below, you can read more about the release of the date and time of the game from UofL’s press release:
Press Release From Louisville Athletics:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville men’s basketball team will face intrastate rival Kentucky in Lexington on Dec. 31 at noon in a game televised by CBS.
While the Cardinals and Wildcats were scheduled to play their rivalry game in Louisville in 2022, COVID-related issues forced last year’s matchup in Lexington to be canceled and the schools agreed to move the planned schedule a year forward and play this year’s New Year’s Eve contest in Lexington.
Louisville won the last meeting 62-59 in Louisville on Dec. 26, 2020, but the Wildcats have a 37-17 series advantage. The two teams had not met in regular season play for 62 years before the current series was renewed in 1983. The rivals had played all 38 seasons since then until last year’s missed contest broke the streak.
