Want to know how much the basketball rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky means to residents in the Bluegrass State?
In 2012, A 78-year-old man punched a 68-year-old man in the face while he was hooked up to dialysis machine when an argument broke out at a clinic in Georgetown over whether the Cardinals or Wildcats would win their upcoming Final Four matchup.
With less than 80 miles separating U of L and UK, the schools’ annual battle on the basketball court is one of, if not the, marquee event on the Kentucky sports calendar. The Kentucky Derby is the only worthy challenger, but one could argue the first leg of horseracing’s Triple Crown lacks the hatred that makes Cards vs. Cats so special. Fans on both sides, especially in Louisville, experience that resentment daily, and whatever happens on the hardwood fuels the fire for the next 365 days.
From Chane Behanan’s last-minute dunk on Dec. 29, 2012, snapping U of L’s four-game losing streak in the series to UK upending the Cardinals’ bid for back-to-back national championships thanks to Aaron Harrison’s heroics in the 2014 Sweet…
