College Basketball Divides Kentucky

Big-time college basketball has once again created a rift within Kentucky's population. Red or blue? Cardinals or Wildcats? Louisville or Kentucky? In last week's polls, these two intrastate rivals had risen to two and three in the rankings. Not only are these teams fighting for state pride, they are connected by coaches and players, creating a very heated rivalry.

For the Kentucky Wildcats, this position in the polls is just another trip around the block. The Wildcats are one of the greatest programs in NCAA history, and were dubbed "the Team of the 90's" by many organizations after winning three national championships during the decade. The Louisville Cardinals, on the other, have not had nearly as much success in the past few years as the Wildcats.

However, with the re-emergence of Louisville as a national power, basketball fans in the state of Kentucky are forced to choose their allegiances with either the Cardinals or the Wildcats. Ashley Judd -- wearing her little white Kentucky tees -- has obviously chosen to continue rooting for her boys in Lexington, while many others in the state have begun to don Louisville red as March Madness looms.

The relationship between these two teams becomes even more entangled upon closer examination of the coaching staff and of Louisville's lineup. After the '96-'97 season, Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino left the friendly confines of the University of Kentucky for the money and glory of the NBA in Boston. Despite his earlier success with the New York Knicks, Pitino failed miserably with the Celtics and was forced to return to the ranks of college basketball with his tail between his legs.

After he was fired during the '00-'01 NBA season, Pitino chose to become the head coach of the University of Louisville. Not only was this of huge consequence to the people of Louisville -- who now had one of the premier coaches in NCAA basketball -- but also to the people of Lexington, where Pitino was a god who, they thought, would bleed Wildcat blue forever.

At the beginning of last year's NCAA season, Pitino's first at Louisville, he was approached by a Kentucky player, Marvin Stone, who wanted to transfer to Louisville. Stone had never played for Pitino at Kentucky, but he was recruited by the Wildcat's former coach in his final year in high school. The newly relocated head coach was reluctant to take the talented big man because he was afraid of creating an even more strained relationship amongst Kentucky faithful. Ultimately, Pitino allowed Stone to transfer to Louisville and, as Pitino admits, he is a big reason for the Cardinals' return to prominence this season.

Kentucky and Louisville met earlier this season in a game that captured everyone's interest in the state of Colonel Sanders' glory. On Dec. 28, Louisville outplayed Kentucky to win 81-63 at home. Since that win, Louisville nailed 11 straight victories to push the nation's longest active winning streak to 17 games. After its loss on the road to Louisville, Kentucky has won fourteen straight games.

Earlier this week on Feb 12, Louisville was defeated by a conference USA foe, the St. Louis Billikens, 59-58. After dealing with its first loss in over two months of play, Louisville defeated another conference rival, the Marquette Golden Eagles (No. 12 ESPN), 73-70 with some last second heroics on Saturday. With six seconds left in the game, Louisville star guard Reece Gaines pulled up and hit a three pointer to put the Cardinals ahead for good after the game was tied seconds earlier on a Marquette three. This shot not only got Louisville back on the winning track, but it snapped Marquette's 28-game home winning streak.

With Louisville's loss to St. Louis, Kentucky now takes over the nation's longest active winning streak with its two wins over conference rivals Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers. The teams also flipped places in the polls, with Kentucky moving up to the number two spot. On Feb. 11, the Wildcats defeated Georgia (No. 24 ESPN) 87-67 in a decisive win over a talented team. In a game to solidify its standing as one of the nation's best, Kentucky disposed of the LSU 68-57 on Saturday to remain at the top of the SEC. Guards Keith Bogans and Gerald Fitch scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, and showed improved defense from the start of the season.

But no matter what happens the rest of the season, Kentucky and Louisville have revived a rivalry that has the whole state of Kentucky talking.