Kentucky vs. Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center in 2025 was a disaster across the board. The game essentially tipped off the season on Tuesday, November 11 — and we all know how things unfolded on the road.
The Wildcats weren’t at full strength, there was the bizarre “pregame experience” that became an unnecessary storyline most of the year, the Cardinals made everything they threw at the rim and the crowd was willing revenge into existence after Mark Pope won round one vs. Pat Kelsey to begin the new era of the rivalry the year before at Rupp Arena. It made for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night in enemy territory.
This time around, though, the rivalry is trending back to normalcy, with the game reportedly being moved back to December, where it had been for every regular season battle since 2010. Before that, it was either December or January since 1993.
According to Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader, the rubber match between Pope and Kelsey back in Lexington will be played on Saturday, December 12. The tip time and TV information are still being finalized, but we at least have the date locked in, one Big Blue Nation should be a little happier with.
It’s still the second-earliest matchup in the series since ’93 (Nov. 27), and we prefer that Christmas/New Year’s holiday window a few weeks later, but we’re on the right track.
Kentucky leads the all-time series 40-18, with the Wildcats winning 14 of the last 18 matchups dating back to 2010. UK had won three straight and six of seven before UL’s 96-88 victory at the Yum! Center this past year. Mikel Brown led the Cards with 29 points in that one, followed by Ryan Conwell with 24, as the team shot 45 percent from the field and 32 percent from three. Denzel Aberdeen had 26 points for the Cats while Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler added 12 apiece in the losing effort.
Time to flip that back at Rupp here in seven months. Get excited, BBN.