Date set for Louisville and Kentucky, game back in December
Louisville and Kentucky, the Battle of the Bluegrass edition 59, is moving dates again.
Next winter, Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals will travel down I-64 to Lexington and play the Wildcats on Saturday, December 12, in Rupp Arena. Cardinal Sports confirmed the date, which was first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Tip-off time will be finalized at a later date, but ESPN owns the game’s airing rights.
Last season, the Cards took down the Cats 96-88 in the Yum! Center. November 12 made it the third game of the season for both programs and the earliest the game has ever been played, with the in-state rivalry dating back to 1913. Kelsey’s win over UK was Louisville’s first since 2020.
The December 12 meeting is still early in the calendar for Louisville and Kentucky. The two rivals have only met in November twice since 1993 (’93, ’25), and next year’s game on the second Saturday of December is the fourth-earliest of the 59 all-time meetings. From the beginning of the 2010 season through 2025, Louisville and Kentucky met in December.
The Cards’ 2026-27 nonconference schedule already holds some of the country’s top competition. Louisville will play in the Players Era Tournament over Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, drawing Texas Tech for the first-round game, then facing either Oregon or St. John’s. Plus, the Cardinals will continue their series with Memphis, Cincinnati, and Baylor.
