Before this season began, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope made headlines when he admitted that he and his wife had nicknamed the pesky mole in their backyard, “The Cardinal.” The shot at Louisville immediately reinvigorated the bad blood between the two programs despite both of them having new head coaches.

The new UK-U of L coaching matchup yielded a very familiar result. Kentucky has now beaten Louisville in 10 of the past 12 meetings and 17 of the last 22. UK leads all-time series with U of L 40-17, and the modern series (since 1982-83) 31-14.

On Dec. 23, 1995, Pope and the Wildcats beat Louisville 89-66 in Rupp on their way to the 1996 national title, sending the UK captain out a winner in his final taste of the rivalry as a player.