The storybook rematch would’ve been in last season’s NCAA Tournament. The bracket was all set up for the top-ranked University of Kentucky basketball team to collide with Duke in the Elite Eight, the same round from which Christian Laettner bounced the Wildcats with a buzzer-beater 20 years earlier.
Alas, the Blue Devils were upset by Lehigh in their opening game and the Wildcats cruised through a Duke-free path to the national championship. So the renewal of the rivalry, dormant since 2001, had to wait a few more months. Now, thanks to the Champions Classic, the two titans will finally square off again tonight in Atlanta.
“It’s definitely a great rivalry, two of the best programs in the country for a long time,” UK point guard Jarrod Polson said. “So playing after 10 years … I definitely think the crowd’s going to be real excited.”
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter’s Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
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Vanderbilt vs Kentucky (On time)
