Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry explained

Wide:yes
Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry
Team1:Cincinnati Bearcats
Team1logo:Cincinnati University Bearcats textlogo.svg
Team2:Louisville Cardinals
Team2logo:Louisville Cardinals wordmark.svg
Sport:Football, basketball, others
Firstmeeting:1921

The Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals. The rivalry between these two schools, located about 100miles apart, dates to their first men's college basketball game in 1921, and has continued across all sports, with the football series gaining attention as well, having started in 1929. Both universities share common characteristics, both being over 200 year old institutions in urban settings. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of four conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference to Conference USA, and more recently in the Big East Conference, which in 2013 was renamed to the American Athletic Conference. After the 2013–14 season, Louisville joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and since then the rivalry has been put on hiatus in football and basketball. Cincinnati will officially join the Big 12 conference in 2023. However, many other sports at the universities, such as baseball, continue to battle periodically.

History

! style=""
scope=row Foundedalign=center 1819 align=center 1798
scope=row Type align=center align=center Public
scope=row Locationalign=center align=center Louisville, KY
scope=row Conference align=center align=center ACC
scope=row Students align=center 46,710 align=center 23,043
scope=row School colors align=center align=center
scope=row Nickname align=center align=center Cardinals
scope=row Stadiumalign=center align=center Cardinal Stadium
scope=row Arenaalign=center align=center KFC Yum! Center
Both universities have traced parallel paths, from their early foundation in the early nineteenth century as municipal universities to their later growth into state sponsored institutions in the 1960s and 70s. Due to their close proximity, the universities became early athletic opponents as college athletics developed first facing off in 1921 in a men's college basketball game. Additionally, this proximity led to both schools being members of the Missouri Valley Conference, Metro Conference, Conference USA, and the Big East Conference historically. While the rivalry was represented annually in football from 1966 to 1992 and 1996 to 2013, the true intensity of the rivalry was felt on the basketball court. Legendary coaches Denny Crum, Bob Huggins, and Rick Pitino each played their part in famous wins for each program and fanning the flames of the matchup.

In the last year of the rivalry in football and basketball for the foreseeable future, the contests lived up to the pressure. In the battle for The Keg of Nails, Teddy Bridgewater led the No. 19 Cardinals to an overtime comeback at Nippert Stadium much to the ire of the Bearcat faithful. On the hardwood both teams would claim upset, ranked wins at their opponent's home court. Sean Kilpatrick lead the Bearcats to a 69–66 victory at the KFC Yum! Center while Russ Smith and the Cardinals would beat the Bearcats 58–57 at Fifth Third Arena in their last matchup as conference foes.

On April 30, 2019 John Brannen and Chris Mack exchanged tweets announcing a renewal of the Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry with the first game at Fifth Third Arena.[1] The series was delayed first due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Chris Mack later confirmed that the series would not be played during the 2021–22 season, putting the resumption of the rivalry into question.[3]

Football

See main article: The Keg of Nails.

See also: Cincinnati Bearcats football and Louisville Cardinals football.

Men's basketball

Wide:yes
Cincinnati–Louisville basketball rivalry
Team1:Cincinnati Bearcats
Team1logo:Cincinnati University Bearcats textlogo.svg
Team2:Louisville Cardinals
Team2logo:Louisville Cardinals wordmark.svg
Sport:College Basketball
Firstmeeting:January 17, 1921
Cincinnati 36 – Louisville 16
Mostrecent:November 23, 2022
Cincinnati 81 – Louisville 62
Total:100
Series:Louisville leads, 53–44
Longeststreak:Louisville, 16 (January 19, 1977 – March 8, 1984)
! style=""
scope=row First seasonalign=center 1901 align=center 1911
scope=row NCAA championshipsalign=center 2 align=center 3*
scope=row NCAA tournament appearancesalign=center 33 align=center 43*
scope=row Conference championships align=center 29 align=center 23*
scope=row Conference tournament championshipsalign=center 12 align=center 19*
scope=row All-Americansalign=center 44 align=center 25
scope=row Consensus 1st Team All-Americansalign=center 8 align=center 7
scope=row Player of the Yearalign=center 3 align=center 1
scope=row Conference Player of the Yearalign=center 10 align=center 10

See also: Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball and Louisville Cardinals men's basketball. Cincinnati and Louisville were rivals, first playing in 1921, until the 2010–14 NCAA conference realignment put the contest on hiatus, as Louisville moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2014.[4] The teams have faced off 99 times in basketball series history, with Louisville leading the all-time series 53–43.[5]

The Bearcats and Cardinals have played in eight conference tournaments, with the Bearcats and Cardinals tied at 4–4. Louisville won all 3 games in the Metro Conference with Cincinnati winning all 3 games in Conference USA. The teams split 1–1 in the Big East tournament.

The teams have also met twice in the NCAA Tournament, tied overall at 1–1.

Notable games

March 21, 1959: The Bearcats met the Cardinals on their home court, Freedom Hall, for the Third Place game of the NCAA tournament. Oscar Robertson would score 39 points, earning the first triple double in Final Four history, leading his Bearcats to a 98–85 victory.[6]

January 21, 1967: The No. 2 Cardinals led by eventual All-American Wes Unseld visited the Armory Fieldhouse to take on the Bearcats. Despite the difference in talent, the entire game was close. With two seconds remaining, Bearcat Gordie Smith threw in a fifteen-foot jumper to win the game 59–58 for UC.

March 20, 1975: The No. 3 Cardinals collided with the No. 12 Bearcats in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Louisville took a solid lead in the first half which proved too much for the Bearcats to overcome, seeing the Cardinals win 78–63. Louisville would go on to finish 3rd overall in the tournament.[7]

January 7, 1978: The Bearcats entered the matchup, tied for the longest home winning streak in the nation at 60 games. The first matchup at Riverfront Coliseum, No. 10 Louisville would snap the Cincinnati streak, winning 78–75.[8]

March 8, 1981: The reigning National Champion Cardinals took on the Bearcats in the final of the Metro Conference tournament at Freedom Hall. In an ugly, low-scoring affair, the Cardinals were triumphant in the game to a score of 42–31.[9]

January 20, 1986: The Bearcats headed to Freedom Hall to take on the No. 18, and eventual national champion, Cardinals. With Louisville pulling ahead their lead, Bearcat Roger McClendon would score 24 of his 35 points in the second half to gain an 84–82 victory for Cincinnati.[10]

March 8, 1996: In 1991 Cincinnati left the Metro Conference to form the Great Midwest Conference, putting the rivalry on a five-year hiatus. In 1995, the Great Midwest and Metro combined to form Conference USA bringing the Bearcats and Cardinals back into the same conference. No. 21 Louisville took the first game 72–66 at the Shoemaker Center in February, but with revenge on their mind the Bob Huggins lead No. 8 Bearcats defeated No. 22 Louisville in the Conference tournament Quarterfinals 92–81. In the NCAA tournament the Bearcats advanced to the Elite Eight and the Cardinals made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

February 22, 2003: No. 4 Louisville traveled to Cincinnati and were stunned by the 31 point performance of Leonard Stokes that would help navigate the Bearcats to the 101–80 upset of the Cardinals. The Bearcats would also set a school record, shooting 42-of-58 on free throws in the game.[11]

March 11, 2004: Cincinnati and Louisville faced off in the 2004 Conference USA men's basketball tournament hosted at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati. After splitting the regular season matchups, the Bearcats proved too much for Rick Pitino's Cardinals winning 64–62 after Armein Kirkland banked a shot in for the Bearcats with only 16.9 seconds remaining. The No. 13 Bearcats would go on to win the conference tournament. This game was Huggins's last victory in the matchup.[12]

March 10, 2012†: In an unlikely Big East tournament championship game, Louisville and Cincinnati faced off, with Mick Cronin coaching against his former boss Pitino. Cincinnati fought their way past No. 13 Georgetown in double overtime and No. 2 Syracuse while Louisville beat No. 9 Marquette and No. 23 Notre Dame. Louisville ended up winning the tilt 50–44, in what was the lowest scoring championship game in Big East history. Both teams made runs in the NCAA tournament with Cincinnati advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and Louisville making it to the Final Four.[13]

February 22, 2014†: In the last matchup between rivals before Louisville left for the Atlantic Coast Conference the teams met at Fifth Third Arena. No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 11 Louisville played in a memorable, blow-for-blow game which would see Sean Kilpatrick record 28 points. However, in the dwindling seconds of the second half, Russ Smith scored with 3 seconds remaining, earning Louisville a 58–57 victory.[14]

November 23, 2022: In their first matchup since 2014 the two rivals played in a 7th place game at the Maui Invitational. This game was not as memorable as the last as Cincinnati routed Louisville 81–62.[15]

† Denotes game vacated by Louisville

Game results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present)

Notes

A 1959 NCAA Third Place Game
B 1975 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
C 1981 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament
D 1984 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament
E 1986 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament
F 1996 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
G 1998 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
H 2004 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
I 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament
J 2012 Big East men's basketball tournament
K 2022 Maui Invitational Tournament

Wins by location

Category CincinnatiLouisville
align=center align=center 25 align=center 21
align=center align=center 1 align=center 0
align=center align=center 0 align=center 1
align=center align=center 16 align=center 30
align=center align=center 1 align=center 1
align=center align=center 0 align=center 1

Wins by venue

Category CincinnatiLouisville
align=center Armory Fieldhouse align=center 9 align=center 2
align=center Belknap Gymnasium align=center 1 align=center 0
align=center Cincinnati Gardens align=center 0 align=center 2
align=center Freedom Hall align=center 14 align=center 27
align=center Jefferson County Armory align=center 0 align=center 2
align=center KFC Yum! Center align=center 2 align=center 0
align=center Lahaina Civic Center align=center 1 align=center 0
align=center Madison Square Garden align=center 0 align=center 1
align=center Memphis Pyramid align=center 1 align=center 0
align=center Mid-South Coliseum align=center 0 align=center 1
align=center Pan American Center align=center 0 align=center 1
align=center Riverfront Coliseum
US Bank Arena
align=center 2 align=center 9
align=center Schmidlapp Gym align=center 3 align=center 2
align=center Shoemaker Center
Fifth Third Arena
align=center 11 align=center 6

Women’s Basketball

See also: Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball and Louisville Cardinals women's basketball. Louisville leads the all time contest in women's basketball 41–27. As with men's basketball and football, the teams have not played since Louisville departed for the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 2013–14 season.[16]

Baseball

See also: Cincinnati Bearcats baseball and Louisville Cardinals baseball. One of the series that has continued since conference realignment has been games between the baseball teams. The teams have continued to play yearly, with the two having faced off 182 times in their history after first playing in 1924. Louisville leads the series all time, 100–82 as of the 2021 season.[17] [18]

In 2013, Cincinnati and Louisville played the first ever college baseball game at Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds on April 6, 2013. The No. 9 Cardinals would defeat the Bearcats 4–1.[19]

On March 21, 2017, the No. 1 Louisville Cardinals played the Cincinnati Bearcats at UC Baseball Stadium. Cincinnati pulled off an upset, beating Louisville 6–3 and handing the Cardinals their first loss of the season.[20]

On March 30, 2021, the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals were again upset by the Bearcats, 13–12 in a walk-off 10th-inning win for Cincinnati.[21]

Notes and References

  1. Rauch . Jeremy . FOX19Jeremy . 1255992597140643841 . 30 Apr 2020 . Big college basketball news: UC will host Louisville on Friday, Nov. 13. A source really, really close to the situation told me to follow the tweets. . https://twitter.com/fox19jeremy/status/1255992597140643841 . 1 May 2020 .
  2. Web site: McGathic. Matthew. Report:Louisville Finds Fourth Team For Non-Conference Bubble. SI Louisville Report. SportsIllustrated.com. 10 October 2020.
  3. Web site: McGathic. Matthew. Mack: Louisville-Cincinnati Won't Take Place in 2021-22. SI Louisville Report. SportsIllustrated.com. 19 June 2021.
  4. Web site: ACC votes to add Louisville in 2014. 19 June 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312052203/http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8685541/acc-votes-add-louisville-cardinals. 12 March 2017.
  5. News: UC Basketball Media Guide. GoBearcats. January 2, 2019.
  6. News: Unforgettable March Madness Moments. ABC News. December 27, 2019.
  7. News: Louisville vs. Cincinnati Box Score, March 20, 1975. Sports Reference. December 27, 2019.
  8. Book: Perry, Michael. Tales from Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball. registration. 1 Jan 2004. Sports Publishing LLC. 116. 9781582617459. en.
  9. News: The history behind U of L's rout on Monday. Jeff Greer. Louisville Courier Journal.
  10. Book: Perry, Michael. Tales from Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball. registration. 1 Jan 2004. Sports Publishing LLC. 146. 9781582617459. en.
  11. News: Pitino ejected in second half of Cardinals' loss. https://web.archive.org/web/20201210182413/https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=230532132. dead. December 10, 2020. ESPN. December 28, 2019.
  12. News: Kirkland scores with 16.9 seconds left. ESPN. December 27, 2019.
  13. News: Louisville edges Cincinnati to win Big East tournament for 2nd time. ESPN. December 27, 2019.
  14. News: Russ Smith's jumper in final seconds helps Louisville upend Cincy. ESPN. December 27, 2019.
  15. Web site: Crawford . Eric . CRAWFORD Cincinnati runs past Louisville 81-62; Cards lose 3rd straight in Maui, fall to 0-6 . 2022-12-13 . WDRB . en.
  16. News: 2019-20 University of Cincinnati Women's Basketball Media Guide. issuu.com. December 25, 2019.
  17. News: No. 6 Louisville Hits Road to Cincinnati Tuesday. GoCards. December 25, 2019.
  18. News: 2017 UC Baseball Media Guide. GoBearcats. December 28, 2019.
  19. News: No. 9 Cardinals Defeat Bearcats in Reds Collegiate Invitational. GoCards. December 25, 2019.
  20. News: Baseball Beats No. 1 Louisville 6-3. GoBearcats. December 25, 2019.
  21. News: Baseball Walks Off No. 5 Louisville, 13-12, In 10 Innings. GoBearcats. May 9, 2021.