NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

No. 9 – Indiana Hoosiers vs. Kentucky Wildcats

All-Time Series: Kentucky leads 32-25

These programs are featured elsewhere on this list, but the history between these two sides that met annually between 1965-2011, bolstered by the fact that the programs come from the upper echelon of college basketball’s elite programs, makes it a rivalry worthy of inclusion here.

These are two programs that rank in the top-10 all-time in most college basketball victories. Kentucky has the second-most national championships with eight. Indiana is tied for fourth-most with five. These are two of the proudest, most basketball-fanatical states in the United States.

The rivalry hit full stride when Indiana was coached by Bob Knight, who frequently questioned Kentucky’s recruiting tactics and even came to blows with the Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall in the dying embers of a game between the schools in 1975. Knight’s histrionics aside, this rivalry was appointment-viewing for college hoops fans for years.

Sadly, the rivalry came to an end, at least in terms of annual matchups, after the 2011 season, but a pair of NCAA Tournament matchups since then whetted the appetite of those eager to see the rivalry restored to an annual occurrence.

Game of Note: December 10, 2011 – Indiana def No. 1 Kentucky 73-72

Normally, we’d elevate any NCAA Tournament matchups over regular-season games, but this, in what was the final regular-season game of this storied rivalry, deserves special consideration here. Indiana’s program had struggled mightily after the firing of Kelvin Sampson, and broadly since Bob Knight. Kentucky continued rolling along as one of the most productive and successful programs in college hoops.

When the top-ranked Wildcats visited Indiana, the Hoosiers found a much-needed boost to the program in the form of Christian Watford’s buzzer-beater. This victory punctuated a bottoming of the program and gave Indiana much-needed hope for the future. The two teams would meet in a Sweet 16 rematch later that season, won by Kentucky en route to winning the national championship.