On Mike and Mike this morning, they were talking about Duke vs.

[CatEye2010]

uncheat. They referred to it as the biggest rivalry in CBB. (A little hyperbole, but that's what they do).

Anyway, I got to thinking about our rivalries. With the imminent demise of UL's program, we could be looking at an even more one-sided situation than it is now. At least now, UL is somewhat competitive. But they could be looking at some real down years coming up.

So, who else? IU? Not so much. Nobody in the SEC can keep pace with us.

The thing about rivalries is, they give the talking heads something to sensationalize, hype up.

Sure, UK can exist in a rivalry "vacuum" but I think it's good for our program to have that hated, competitive rival to play off of. Amirite?

 

[tbone.ky]

Solid points. Although I still won't lose any sleep at night feeling sorry for any sanctions UL will receive.

 

[UKhoopCat]

I'm sure those weasels never mentioned the scandal going on at UNCheat. I really dislike those two dudes.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

I'm sure their segment went like this:
Tonight duke plays carolina...
Cam newton plays for the carolina panthers...
The superbowl....
NFL nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl

 

[CatEye2010]

I'm sure those weasels never mentioned the scandal going on at UNCheat. I really dislike those two dudes.

Kinda my point. They can hype Duke and uncheat right now because there's no "cloud" really hanging over unc in the eyes of M&M, and ESPN and the rest of the country for that matter.

 

[uk78]

It is the best rivalry game in CBB. Sure it is hyped, but so what? Both programs are always good and typically have good games against each other. I wish they could both lose of course but there really are no other similar rivals. They are in the same conference, in the same town basically, Duke is the upper class expensive school, UNC is the State University, and it is a long term rivalry. Kentucky and UL is a great rivalry because of the competition within the State, but it has pretty one sided for us and we are not in the same conference. UCLA/USC; Texas/Texas Tech, Kansas/Kansas State, none of those even begin to compare.

 

[CatEye2010]

I guess the point of my OP was, is it good for UK to not have a competitive rival?

 

[Smashcat]

I'm sure those weasels never mentioned the scandal going on at UNCheat. I really dislike those two dudes.

I'd guess that as well.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I'm sure their segment went like this:
Tonight duke plays carolina...
Cam newton plays for the carolina panthers...
The superbowl....
NFL nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl

I tuned in one time and I think it was the Monday or Tuesday after the bracket's came out, and they were talking about the NFL.

 

[Mojocat]

I think you miss the point, or really, you think there might be an opportunity for UK to have that kind of rivalry when it can't.....There are 4 true elite, glamour schools in the country: UK, UNC, Duke and KU. That's it. Not IU, not UCLA, not Michigan St or Louisville or UConn or anyone else. The reason Duke/UNC is the biggest rivalry is because they are both superpowers. .....

 

[blueblood65]

That's all they talk about is the NFL.....I was watching on Monday cause I had the day off and every show was about the NFL.....NEWS ALERT ESPN, The NFL season is OVER!!!! All of these talking heads are wearing me out.....

 

[buster3.0]

That's all they talk about is the NFL.....I was watching on Monday cause I had the day off and every show was about the NFL.....NEWS ALERT ESPN, The NFL season is OVER!!!! All of these talking heads are wearing me out.....

They know what sells.

I heard many of them today refer to this time of year as a dead period because there is nothing sports related going on. The NFL season is over, college football recruiting is over, the NFL trade season doesn't start until March, baseball opening day is still over a month away, the NBA playoff race doesn't start getting heated up for a few months and March Madness doesn't start until, well, March. With the exception of just a few lower populated States, most of the country doesn't care about College basketball until the NCAA tournament. Therefore, the national talk radio won't spend much time during this time of year talking about it. Matt Jones knows what sells in Kentucky, ESPN radio knows what sells nation wide.

 

[Ugoff]

Kansas should be our rival. Should play in St. Louis every year.

 

[Bkocats]

I think you miss the point, or really, you think there might be an opportunity for UK to have that kind of rivalry when it can't.....There are 4 true elite, glamour schools in the country: UK, UNC, Duke and KU. That's it. Not IU, not UCLA, not Michigan St or Louisville or UConn or anyone else. The reason Duke/UNC is the biggest rivalry is because they are both superpowers. .....

this X100
That's why it doesn't bother me that they're considered the "biggest college basketball rivalry"

 

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

I think you miss the point, or really, you think there might be an opportunity for UK to have that kind of rivalry when it can't.....There are 4 true elite, glamour schools in the country: UK, UNC, Duke and KU. That's it. Not IU, not UCLA, not Michigan St or Louisville or UConn or anyone else. The reason Duke/UNC is the biggest rivalry is because they are both superpowers. .....

You are correct. Ul was trending that way until recently.

It would be cool for UK to have a blue blood rival but in the end we don't really NEED it as evidenced by most of our history.

 

[Bkocats]

I kinda wish we had a proper in-conference rival - Florida was really the closest we've come, but...
Of course, proximity would make it better

 

[KMKAT]

We don't need no stinkin' rival.

Let everyone play us in their Super Bowl.

Oh, and UNC is still a cheater.

 

[blueblood65]

They know what sells.

I heard many of them today refer to this time of year as a dead period because there is nothing sports related going on. The NFL season is over, college football recruiting is over, the NFL trade season doesn't start until March, baseball opening day is still over a month away, the NBA playoff race doesn't start getting heated up for a few months and March Madness doesn't start until, well, March. With the exception of just a few lower populated States, most of the country doesn't care about College basketball until the NCAA tournament. Therefore, the national talk radio won't spend much time during this time of year talking about it. Matt Jones knows what sells in Kentucky, ESPN radio knows what sells nation wide.

In many respects you are correct but they don't hesitate to talk about the ACC more than any other conference. As everybody knows they(ESPN) Are so biased towards the ACC it's ridiculous. I mean look who they have in studio,calling games,etc. All former ACC players,coaches. I have no problem watching,talking NFL during the season and I get the NBA talk because their season is in session but the NFL IMO is over til training camp..

 

[trinity45]

uncheat. They referred to it as the biggest rivalry in CBB. (A little hyperbole, but that's what they do).

Anyway, I got to thinking about our rivalries. With the imminent demise of UL's program, we could be looking at an even more one-sided situation than it is now. At least now, UL is somewhat competitive. But they could be looking at some real down years coming up.

So, who else? IU? Not so much. Nobody in the SEC can keep pace with us.

The thing about rivalries is, they give the talking heads something to sensationalize, hype up.

Sure, UK can exist in a rivalry "vacuum" but I think it's good for our program to have that hated, competitive rival to play off of. Amirite?

Greenie starts this discussion every year, just a rehash of the same stuff he has said for 5 plus years now.

 

[irishcat1965]

I guess the point of my OP was, is it good for UK to not have a competitive rival?

If it means total destruction of the tard program, so be it.

 

[CUT-NETS]

"Hyperbole" might be the most over-used word on this board.

 

[UKUGA]

For about 15 years, Duke-UNC was the best rivalry in college basketball.

But, over the last 5 years, with Cal returning UK to glory and Pitino's presence at UL, UK-UL actually looked like the #1 rivalry again.

The fact that we only play 1x per year actually makes our game more special, especially when we are both good teams.

 

[carbonlib23]

doesn't seem like it ever WAS a rivalry since all those players should never have been on the floor...

 

[Graves51]

if you live anywhere near the Tennessee border then the biggest rivalry is the Cats vs Volunteers. I hate to lose to those Rocky Top singing losers!

 

[elwood_blue]

If it means total destruction of the tard program, so be it.

Yep. I'm willing to concede the "biggest rivalry" title to Duke/UNC.

 

[littlecreek]

A rival is someone who is equal to you or on par with you. UK has no equal so who cares about a rival.

 

[martinsm30]

It is starting to look like the greatest rivalry in college sports is one sided with UNC lamely shaking their fist in the air and yelling, "We'll get you next year!" and "Wait till we get our new coach!"

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Stupidly, had this debate on Facebook.

But I really think the #1 aspect of a rivalry is your feelings towards the other team/person. There's no love lost between UofL and UK. In many regards it's "As long as we win this game, I don't care if we lose the rest of the season" type of thing. You don't see that with Duke and UNC.

However, Duke UNC makes up for it by 3x as many games, historical match ups between two top5 programs, making it for better TV and more excitement, PLUS, ESPN pumping it up like no other.

I think best "rivalry" is very debatable.

 

[83Cat]

I kinda wish we had a proper in-conference rival - Florida was really the closest we've come, but...
Of course, proximity would make it better

But even with UF, many would say that they are a football school and many on campus don't care about basketball. UNC and Dook are definitely basketball schools like us and rabid fans like us and it usually comes down to a last second shot like last night. I tend to think that our Bluegrass rivalry is bigger, but maybe it is just because of my passion for the Cats. I live in Nashville. You see very little if anything reported about the game here even though there are lots of UK fans here. I have also lived in FL and CA. There it is football 24/7 with a couple of blurbs and a printed bracket in the paper during March Madness and that's it.

 

[bowfreak]

How could we consider the UK/UL rivalry the biggest? To have a rivalry both teams must win with some regularity. Calling the cards our rival in basketball is like Florida calling us their rival in football.

 

[TheDude1]

Very hard to argue against the Duke/Carolina rivalry. You guys are stuck with Louisville, a team which absolutely nobody outside of Kentucky cares about in any visceral way, and which really hasn't consistently done much on a national level for the last thirty years, if ever. Duke and UNC are relatively equal (well, not counting the cheating) and have been arguably the two dominant programs of the last three decades (i.e. the aware lifetimes of the majority of people, and since ESPN has made it big)... just since 2000 those two teams have accounted for what, five national titles, and a LOT of wins and high rankings, and tons of All Americans and the like. Just last night they pointed out that Duke and UNC have met 75 different times when both were ranked, which is an insane 35 times more than any other rivalry in the nation. The games are usually pretty close, too; I think the OVERALL difference in total score in the history of all the Duke/UNC games is something like 15 points, total. Louisville and Kentucky games are usually pretty lopsided in favor of Kentucky. The two schools are literally down the road from each other. Even the "storylines" are ideal... small, elite private school vs what is viewed as a "school of the people" state school.

And I doubt you guys have more animosity, ESPECIALLY at this point, than Duke and UNC fans. The cheating has seen to that

I know everyone thinks their own thing is the best. Auburn and Alabama think they have the best rivalry. UK and Louisville think they have the best rivalry. Duke and UNC think they have the best rivalry. In this sort of case, I think the views of people who are viewing the rivalries a bit from the outside might have a more honest and fair understanding.

 

[Cats192]

Bringing back the IU game would be fun

 

[yoshukai]

For about 15 years, Duke-UNC was the best rivalry in college basketball.

But, over the last 5 years, with Cal returning UK to glory and Pitino's presence at UL, UK-UL actually looked like the #1 rivalry again.

The fact that we only play 1x per year actually makes our game more special, especially when we are both good teams.

I kind of agree , but our series might be too one sided for the rest of the country to consider it a TOP rivalry . lol

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

The fact that UL has never been a blue blood, and that we own them lately really downgrades the rivalry in the eyes of the country. Duke and UNC view NC State the same way we view UL.

The closest to the UNC Duke game we had was the UK-IU rivalry.

 

[Bkocats]

Bringing back the IU game would be fun

dear Lord, no -
they're less relevant than UofL plus their coach encourages fans to do things at games no fans should do

 

[83Cat]

dear Lord, no -
they're less relevant than UofL plus their coach encourages fans to do things at games no fans should do

We have a pretty good grudge match opportunity going with Kansas. Let's let that thing brew up every year.

 

[Smashcat]

dear Lord, no -
they're less relevant than UofL plus their coach encourages fans to do things at games no fans should do

 

[blubo]

mike and mike talking basketball is about as credible as me giving a dissertation on nanophysics---whatever that is.

 

[.S&C.]

I'm sure their segment went like this:
Tonight duke plays carolina...
Cam newton plays for the carolina panthers...
The superbowl....
NFL nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl

I can't wait until the NFL network takes full rights. It's going to eventually happen, that's why ESPN pounds that league so much.

Viewership was slightly down for the NFL this year, or so I read. Eventually it's gonna come down some. Lots of kids are passing up football because of health risk today, so I'd assume a new rise in popularity for baseball coming again. It's all a cycle.

I coach and played football. 99-15 even made me sick of the league to an extent. Then ESPN just turned me off.

 

[.S&C.]

I'm sure their segment went like this:
Tonight duke plays carolina...
Cam newton plays for the carolina panthers...
The superbowl....
NFL nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl nfl

Oh I forgot, did you know Scam Newton was black, and I'm now a racist for calling him Scam?