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Kentucky announces early tip-off date for rivalry clash vs. Louisville
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The 2025 college basketball season is still months away, but Kentucky is in the middle of solidifying its schedule, announcing the date for the in-state rivalry clash with Louisville on Wednesday.
For the upcoming 2025-26 season, the two rivals will meet much earlier in the season than most fans are accustomed to. The 2025 matchup will come on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. The full schedule has not been released yet, but that will be among the first games of the season for both teams.
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Since the mid-1980s, the traditional date for the rivalry game has been sometime in December, often falling in the week after Christmas. Save for a 3-year stretch of games played just after New Year’s Day from 2008-10, every regular-season matchup between 2001-24 was played in December. The last time the 2 sides met before December came in 1993, a victory for the Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Nov. 27.
Kentucky is currently riding a 3-game winning streak in the series, including last season when Mark Pope led the Wildcats to a 93-85 win at home in his first season as the head coach. The Wildcats also lead the all-time series, 40-17.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
