Note: December 28th is being reported as the date that Kentucky and Louisville will face each other on the hardwood. From CBSSports.com: “When Russ Smith reversed field Wednesday and made it official he would be returning toLouisville, it was a cause for celebration. It was certainly time to rejoice around the Yum! Center, and also for college basketball altogether. Marcus Smart pulled the shocker when he came back to Oklahoma State, Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III opted to spurn the NBA for another year in Ann Arbor and Kentucky freshmen Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress also decided to put their pro plans on hold for at least another year. Toss in North Carolina's James Michael McAdoo and Michigan State's Gary Harris with a loaded incoming freshman class next season and the health of college hoops will improve significantly.
Last season there was no dominant team, no face of college basketball. The rivalries were also lackluster after UCLA underachieved, North Carolina got out of the gates slowly and Kentucky was irrelevant for much of the season.
This year, however, we may have it all. There will be young stars like Andrew Wiggins, wherever he winds up (Kentucky and Florida State are the co-favorites), the Harrison Twins, Julius Randle, Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon. There will be guys the country has already gotten a chance to know such as Smart, Smith, Robinson, McGary, Cauley-Stein and Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon.
And there will finally be a legitimate rivalry again in the Commonwealth.”
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.