Reliving the best moments in Louisville basketball rivalry vs. Cincinnati
By Alan Thomas
No. 4 – The dunk
DeJuan Wheat has legendary status in Louisville basketball folklore. He was an elite scorer, had a beautiful shot, and always seemed to make the right decision.
Perhaps the most endearing and unfathomable trait about Wheat was his size. Even at 6’0”, 165 lbs, the sleek point guard was able to wow crowds and elude failures throughout his college career without doing the one thing that wows crowds the most…dunking.
Enter no. 9 Louisville’s matchup with the no. 8 Bearcats. Freedom Hall was absolutely rocking that evening. The Cards has already knocked off no. 19 Arkansas and no. 23 Texas on the road, and they were just itching to chisel a signature win into their resume.
The game was back-and-forth all night long, when suddenly Louisville hit their stride, scoring on consecutive possessions. The ensuing Cincinnati possession, however, would set the building ablaze.
As the crowd noise intensified, Cincinnati point guard Darnell Burton brought the ball across the timeline, and on a lazy crossover, had his pocket picked by none other than Wheat, who sprinted out on a one-man fast break, where he soared to flush home a breakaway slam dunk that barely eclipsed the height of the rim.
Freedom Hall was unhinged. That play proved to be the momentum solidifier the Cards needed. They cruised to an 81-70 victory.
No. 3 – The roadblock
The setting was the 1974-75 NCAA Tournament. Louisville had fallen to the Bearcats in their only other postseason meeting in 1959’s 3rd Place Game.
Cincinnati had racked up four Final Fours, two National Titles, and a National Runner-up since then. Louisville had been to only one Final Four since, respectively. Even though the no. 3 Cardinals were favorites over the no.12 Bearcats that day, it just didn’t seem like a favorable outcome was likely. That was just our luck.
But something magical transpired that day, as Louisville jumped all over Cincy early, and cruised to a 78-65 victory. The Oscar Robertson curse had ended, as Crum’s team went on to a 3rd Place finish in the tournament, their highest NCAA finish ever.