The coronavirus cut short a UK-U of L rivalry year that was trending toward stellar
Before the coronavirus shut college sports down cold, the rivalry between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Louisville Cardinals was producing a vintage 2019-20.
Consider: Over this past school year, there were games in five different sports in which UK and U of L teams met with both ranked in the Top 25.
In our annual review of who “won” the Cats-Cards rivalry, let’s start with the head-to-head battles between ranked UK and U of L teams.
The headliner came in men’s basketball, where John Calipari’s No. 19 Wildcats outlasted Chris Mack’s No. 3 Cardinals 78-70 in overtime in Rupp Arena.
The script was reversed in men’s swimming, where No. 10 Louisville handled No. 25 Kentucky 165-135.
Every women’s sports matchup between UK and U of L in 2019-20 was a meeting of Top 25 foes.
In basketball, the No. 7 Cardinals escaped a spirited upset bid by No. 14 Kentucky with a 67-66 victory in Rupp Arena.
The No. 16 Wildcats swept the No. 25 Cardinals 3-0 in volleyball.
Swimming was a similar story, as No. 13 Kentucky beat No. 19 Louisville 160.5 to 139.5
During 2019-20, only two Cats-Cards contests did not involve two Top 25 teams.
In a football matchup of unranked opponents, Mark Stoops and troops spoiled Scott Satterfield’s Governor’s Cup debut with a 45-13 pasting of U of L.
In men’s soccer, unranked Louisville stunned No. 9 Kentucky with a 3-0 whitewashing.
There should have been more Cats-Cards contests to consume. The coronavirus pandemic canceled scheduled UK-U of L contests in baseball (two) and softball (one).
Meanwhile, a scheduling impasse between the schools meant the usual women’s soccer match between UK and U of L did not occur in 2019-20.
Put it all together, and Kentucky narrowly won the head-to-head rivalry with Louisville in 2019-20 by going 4-3 vs. U of L across sports.
Over the past three years combined, UK leads its all-sports, head-to-head competition with U of L 15-13-1.
Rivalry ‘MVPs’
If awards were handed out to the players and coaches who made the most dramatic impact on our state’s marquee college sports rivalry in 2019-20, the winners would be:
Kentucky men’s sports rivalry MVP: Lynn Bowden, football. On a cold, rain-soaked November Saturday, Bowden set Kroger Field aflame. UK’s “wide receiver playing quarterback” gashed Louisville, running for 284 yards and four touchdowns to ignite a blowout.
Louisville men’s sports rivalry MVP: Nicolas Albiero, swimming. The son of U of L Coach Arthur Albiero won three events (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 medley relay) as the Cards avenged an upset loss to the Cats in 2018-19.
Kentucky women’s sports rivalry MVP: Leah Edmond, volleyball. The senior outside hitter had 15 kills vs. Louisville, to finish her storied UK career undefeated against the archrival Cardinals.
Louisville women’s sports rivalry MVP: Kylee Shook, women’s basketball. The 6-foot-4 post stunned UK by draining three three-point shots — including the one that put U of L ahead to stay with 1:51 left in the game. In Louisville’s one-point win in Rupp, Shook finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Kentucky rivalry coach of the year: Mark Stoops, football. After losing his first three games vs. U of L, Stoops has beaten the Cardinals three of the past four — the last two by a combined 101-23.
Louisville rivalry coach of the year: John Michael Hayden, men’s soccer. In his first year as Cards head man, Hayden coached U of L to a stunning upset of UK that snapped a three-game winless (0-2-1) streak for Louisville vs. Kentucky.
Tracking the trends
The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry, across sports, tends to be so streaky it is freaky. These are the current trends:
MEN’S SPORTS
Baseball: With no games between Cards and Cats in 2020, Louisville continues to hold 10 wins over Kentucky in the past 12 meetings.
Basketball: The Wildcats have beaten the Cardinals three straight, seven out of eight and 11 of 13.
Football: Kentucky has defeated Louisville in three of the past four meetings.
Soccer: U of L is 4-3-1 in the past eight matches vs. UK.
Swimming: The Cardinals have defeated the Wildcats in 11 of the past 12 head-to-head meets.
WOMEN’S SPORTS
Basketball: Jeff Walz and the Cardinals have beaten Matthew Mitchell and the Wildcats four straight.
Soccer: Louisville has won two straight after Kentucky won six of the prior seven.
Softball: U of L upset UK in 2019, but the Wildcats have nevertheless won seven of the last nine games.
Swimming: Kentucky has won the past three dual meets with Louisville after the Cardinals won the prior eight years in a row.
Volleyball: The Cats have beaten the Cards seven in a row and nine of the past 10.
Looking forward, hopefully the coronavirus can be sufficiently contained so that, by next summer, we will have 2020-21 Kentucky-Louisville rivalry results to review.
