Kentucky vs. Louisville to Tip at Noon on New Year's Eve

Kentucky Basketball vs. Louisville to Tip at Noon on New Year's Eve

Kentucky Basketball will look to finish 2022 with a bang, as it'll host rival Louisville inside Rupp Arena on New Year's Eve. 

Today, UK announced that the game will tip-off at Noon EST and will be aired on CBS. 

Kentucky-Louisville on CBS 🔥

Tipoff at 12:00 p.m. on December 31. pic.twitter.com/3xdUprhHS9

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) August 26, 2022

It will be the first game between the Wildcats and Cardinals since 2020, when Louisville snuck out a 62-59 win inside the KFC Yum! Center. The two were scheduled to play in 2021, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, as the virus was circling throughout the UofL program at the time. Kentucky then replaced the Cards with Western Kentucky, whom the Cats defeated 95-60. 

The matchup will also see the return of former longtime UK assistant and now first-year Louisville head coach Kenny Payne. 

Payne was on John Calipari's staff for a decade, spanning from 2010-2020. He then left Lexington to become an assistant for the New York Knicks, where he stayed until early 2022. Louisville fired Chris Mack as its head coach in January, then quickly made the decision to hire Payne as his replacement, introducing him on March 18.

It will be the longtime teacher against his pupil on Dec. 31 in Lexington, as the Wildcats look for their fourth win in five games over the Cardinals.