ESPN REPORT: Kentucky Wildcats Lose A Talented Mega-Star To Louisville….

In a brand-new rivalry between the coaches, Mark Pope will be coaching against Pat Kelsey for the first time.

This season, the Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats will play one another under new head coaches.

Following his re-signation and departure to coach Arkansas, Kentucky was forced to replace John Calipari; in the meantime, Louisville fired Kenny Payne following his dismal two seasons as head coach.

Come December, Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey will be coaching against one another for the first time, thus the rivalry will be entirely new to them.

On Saturday, December 14, at Rupp Arena, Kentucky will host Louisville, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The game is usually played around Christmas or New Year’s, but this year it is scheduled sooner than usual—it hasn’t been this early since 1993.

The 1993 showdown between the two took place on November 27 at Rupp Arena and was a top-10 contest. Ultimately, Kentucky prevailed 78-70 over Louisville thanks to Rick Pitino’s victory over Denny Crum.

Additionally, Kentucky usually participates in the CBS Sports Classic during this weekend. It happened on December 13 of last season, when Kentucky defeated a North Carolina squad that had been awarded a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Thus, not only will the Louisville vs. Kentucky game be on