Louisville basketball & UK can continue their rivalry according to the ACC. Why that matters.
No question it’s been a crazy year for the entire world, and the sports world has been no exception. No March Madness, no college baseball season, half of college football is playing and the other isn’t (kind of?), it’s mid September and the NBA draft hasn’t even happened yet and we’re still in the playoffs in a ‘bubble’, etc. We’ve been waiting for the go ahead for Louisville basketball to begin there season, and that seems to be finally happening.
It’s already official that UofL and UK will not be playing each other in football this year. Even though it could’ve, until the majority of the SEC voted to have a conference only schedule this season, preventing a UofL-UK game from happening. I might add, UK was among the schools to vote in favor of a conference-only schedule.
So unfortunately our top 20 Louisville football team will not have the opportunity to take back the throne this year. But there is some good news, our basketball team will have a chance to, as of right now.
Sources: The ACC is planning on playing non-conference games during the 20-21 college basketball season, barring any massive medical setbacks or testing issues related to COVID-19.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 17, 2020
Why it matters for Louisville basketball
This is big for the rivalry and especially Louisville. With both Louisville and Kentucky coming into the season with just a lot of unknowns, Chris Mack really has an opportunity here. There’s no question about it, the elephant in the room here is that he needs a win in the rivalry. Sure, UofL hasn’t been without its issues that he had no part in, but it’s almost year 3, and fans are itching for a win regardless.
Both John Calipari and Mack will be relying a lot on younger guys with little experience, so the game will be tough to predict going into the season. Which is why Mack has a real shot here to have his rivalry “moment”.
Calipari supplanted himself into the rivalry seemingly right away. It’s no question that his rivalry “moment” came in his first season. His first game in the rivalry was full of tension, had the infamous Cousins elbow and scuffle, and came out with a fairly safe 9 point win. He was instantly enshrined into the rivalry for UK fans and hated by UofL fans.
Mack’s first year understandably had some difficulties and Mack made do with the hand he was dealt, coming into a tough situation and a depleted roster, his first game in the rivalry was a bit anticlimactic – a 13 point loss.
We all thought Mack’s moment in the rivalry would come last year, Louisville came into the season with high expectations, and spent some time as the #1 team in the country and entered the rivalry game in the AP Top 3. In a game of ups and downs and big runs, it certainly could have been a classic and a memorable win for Mack and the Cards, but unfortunately terrible free throw shooting cost Louisville dearly – and a dud in overtime for Louisville overshadowed what was an intense game.
But look, there’s no question that Mack knows how to “rivalry”.
There’s also no question that Mack knows how to dominate a rivalry. Mack owned Cincy at Xavier with a record of 6-3 against the arch rivals. You could also argue that he really turned the tide in the Cincinnati-Xavier rivalry, which Cincy used to dominate.
Now that Mack and Cal have gone head to head a few times on the court and on the recruiting trail, we may see some more tension and a return of some good ol’ rivalry banter. Especially with guard Devin Askew opting to go to UK over Louisville, after Louisville recruited Askew heavily, this also adds another layer to the rivalry. Now it looks like another former Louisville target may be headed to Lexington as well.
If you ask me, I think this year has all the makings of a possible intense rivalry game, with a possible much needed Louisville win. I think that’s something we’d all love to see, especially with the year we’ve had.