LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kenny Payne lost to Indiana in his final season as the University of Louisville men’s basketball coach.
It happened in New York City on Nov. 20, 2023.
Mike Woodson lost to Louisville in his final season as the Hoosiers’ coach.
It happened in The Bahamas on Nov. 27, 2024.
Now that U of L has upgraded Pat Kelsey’s contract as the coach who can bring the Cardinals back to greatness and IU hired Darian DeVries as the guy to bring the Hoosiers back to national relevance, next season is the perfect opportunity for a rubber-match, third game between the programs.
Except this time, the game will be played in an arena that fans of the Cardinals and Hoosiers can attend without taking an airplane.
On Dec. 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis -- the same day the Big Ten championship football game will be played several blocks away at Lucas Oil Stadium.
With half the fans outfitted in U of L red, black and white, with the other half dressed in cream and crimson. Make the dividing line precisely at center court, the way it was when Indiana played Kentucky every season.
On Thursday, an athletic department source at one of the schools confirmed the game, the date and location. No additional games have been scheduled between the programs, but they should be.
Kentucky will return to the IU schedule next season. The first game in a four-game IU-UK series is booked for Rupp Arena. Even John Calipari can’t stop it. Mark Pope said he was delighted by renewal when he was asked about it in Indianapolis two weeks ago.
U of L vs. UK has remained a staple on the calendar since the 1983 NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Dream Game in Knoxville, Tennessee, which led to annual series that kicked off the following season.
Louisville-Indiana should continue to make an appearance on the calendar, too. It will bring a valuable blast of national publicity to the heartbeat of college basketball.
Never mind what they say on Tobacco Road. This is the most rabid region in the country for college basketball. It’s reflected in TV ratings in Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis.
It was reinforced in a story that ran in the Wall Street Journal this week that said all three programs ranked among the nine most valuable programs in America.
The Cards and Hoosiers have played — 21 times, in fact. They simply have not played as consistent rivals.
Rick Pitino arranged a three-game series with IU but was only on board to coach the first game, which U of L won in Indianapolis on New Year’s Even 2016. David Padgett directed the Cardinals to a victory at the KFC Yum! Center the next season.
Then in December 2018, Archie Miller and IU defeated Chris Mack and the Cardinals to avoid a series sweep.
There was a 5-season gap before the Hoosiers beat U of L, 74-66, in Madison Square Garden. Last November at the Battle 4 Atlantis, Kelsey and the Cards showed they were Top 25 material by dumping the Hoosiers in the deep end of the pool with an 89-61 victory.
I believe that was the moment Indiana realized the program had to move on from Woodson — and athletic director Scott Dolson did.
Woodson is gone. DeVries is putting together his first IU team, working the transfer portal, settling on a coaching staff.
As Kelsey showed at Louisville, Pope demonstrated at Kentucky and Dusty May proved at Michigan, a coach can flip a roster and win big in his first season these days.
Woodson did not schedule with confidence last season. The IU schedule was timid. Even before the first game, you could look at the Hoosiers’ schedule and predict IU would have to win at least two games in The Bahamas to position themselves to make the NCAA Tournament.
Indiana did not win two games there. The Hoosiers were blown out by U of L and Gonzaga before they salvaged seventh place.
On NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday, IU finished two spots below the cut line for an at-large berth. The absence of quality non-Big Ten wins made the Hoosiers an afterthought to the Tournament Selection Committee.
Kelsey, to his credit, scheduled the Cardinals aggressively in his strong debut, which resulted in a $1 million raise to an annual salary of $3.3 million Thursday.
In addition to the Bahamas trip, the annual UK game and the ACC/SEC Challenge with Ole Miss, Kelsey agreed to a home game with Tennessee in the season’s second game.
Yes, the Cardinals lost to the Vols by 22.
But as the Cards’ turnaround unfolded, Kelsey and his players said multiple times that the Tennessee game was a turning point. It showed them what was required to compete at the top level.
Practice smarter. Work longer. Compete harder.
Mission accomplished. Louisville went to the Bahamas and dominated Indiana, beat West Virginia and played Oklahoma tight into the final minutes of the championship game. It was the first sign the college basketball world better pay attention to what was happening at Louisville again.
Now comes season two for Kelsey and the debut of Darian DeVries. A game between the two proud programs that local fans can attend will be a perfect way to celebrate the new era.
More from Bozich and Crawford:
BOZICH | U of L, UK, IU men, U of L women ranked Top 10 most valuable basketball programs
BOZICH | U of L makes major jump in basketball attendance rankings as UK tops the list
CRAWFORD | Hard work pays off for Burnham Square, who punches Derby ticket with Blue Grass win
'Let's run it back!' | Hadley says he'll stay with Louisville basketball for next season
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