NCAA Tournament 2012: The Kentucky vs. Louisville Rivalry

The 2012 NCAA Tournament is winding down.  Three more games remain: a bitter rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville along with an Ohio State and Kansas heavyweight fight, ending in a National Championship that will surely not disappoint.  

The Louisville and Kentucky rivalry is one of the most bitter in college athletics. Besides being only 76 miles apart, the Cards and 'Cats share one thing.

Winning.

The two schools share nine National Championships and 44 Conference Championships. In fact, the 1993 and 1996 Kentucky Wildcat teams each set the record for the highest victory margin throughout the tournament at plus-121 and plus-129, respectively.  Who coached the 1996 Wildcats, deemed "The Untouchables"?

None other than current Louisville head coach, Rick Pitino.

Rick Pitino brought the Wildcats back from the grave after the scandal under Eddie Sutton. The scandal left Kentucky with a two-year ban from postseason play and a ban from live television in Pitino's first two years.

Pitino's fast-paced offense and full-court defense brought the Wildcats back into the spotlight, culminating in the historic 1996 run to the National Championship.  It was the 'Cats first Championship in 18 years.  They would return to the Big Dance in 1997, only to fall in overtime to the Arizona Wildcats.

Pitino left after the 1997 season to coach the Boston Celtics until 2001 when he headed to, as Kentucky fans would say, the Dark Side.

By the numbers, Louisville and Kentucky are among the elite.  Kentucky's 109 Tournament wins, 52 Tournament appearances and .763 winning percentage are No. 1 in the country.  You don't have to look too far down the list to find Louisville with 64 Tournament wins (sixth), 38 Tournament appearances (fifth) and .658 winning percentage (ninth).

Just like the overall statistics, Kentucky dominates the head-to-head matchup with a 29-14 series edge over the Cardinals.

So far in 2012, everything looks to be on Kentucky's side again.  They are rolling towards another National Championship.  Entering the tournament with a 32-2 record, the Wildcats have amassed four-straight double-digit victories, while Louisville has skated on thin ice, with the exception of a dismantling of Michigan State. 

Honestly—and Rick Pitino would probably agree—the Cardinals were lucky to get past the Florida Gators in a game where they were outplayed for 32 of the 40 minutes.

Regardless of how they got here and what they have done this season, the Louisville and Kentucky matchup on March 31st could prove to be the best of the series, simply adding more drama to one of the nation's most premier rivalries.