LEXINGTON, Ky.-Per an official announcement from Bill Riley of ESPN 700, the University of Utah and Kentucky will resume in their storied rivalry in men’s college basketball.
This report, substantiated by University of Kentucky SB Nation blog A Sea of Blue, says in 2018-19, Kentucky and Utah will play at Rupp Arena in Lexington. This will be followed by a 2019-20 matchup in Las Vegas.
The Utes and Wildcats have met 11 times all-time, with Kentucky dominating the all-time series 9-2, per the University of Kentucky Media Guide dating back to the past season.
With Division I currently consisting of 351 schools, it’s extremely rare for teams so far apart from each other geographically to have played so many times.
Nevertheless, the Wildcats, who are among the blue bloods of men’s college basketball, deem the Utes a worthy opponent.
With head coach Larry Krystkowiak at the helm, the Utes have won at least 20 games each of the past five seasons and played for the NIT championship this past season before falling 82-66 at the hands of Penn State.