#19 Kentucky renews rivalry with Duke in Atlanta

Kentucky’s Kerr Kriisa (77) celebrates a Bucknell turnover during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Kentucky won 100-72. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- As Kentucky moves up four spots to 19th in the nation according to the latest Associated Press rankings, an early season challenge is coming in The Peach State.

Duke, the sixth ranked team in the nation, awaits the Wildcats on Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the State Farm Champions Classic.

We Have History

There’s no shortage of wins between the Blue Bloods. Kentucky leads the all-time series with the Blue Devils 12-11 and is 9-6 on neutral sites.

UK has eight national titles to Duke’s five and Kentucky is the all-time college basketball wins leader while Duke is fourth on the list.

“I know (UK and Duke) don’t really get to play much. Every game is important. That’s it,” said Otega Oweh when asked about his knowledge of the rivalry.

“I don’t know much about (the Duke rivalry),” said Amari Williams. “The only rivalry I know about right now is Louisville.”

As for Head Coach Mark Pope, he has played Duke once before and lost that game.

First Tests

The first away and ranked tests for Kentucky are on tap in Atlanta. Both teams take a 2-0 record into the game.

“We’ve all been in big games where we’re playing a rival,” said Oweh. “Just trying to take the same approach as any other game. I’m always going to play with passion and have high energy.”

This season, its the Blue Devils who have star freshmen in the rotation. Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel are the first year phenoms in Durham.

Knueppel leads his team in scoring with 18.5 points per game and Flagg averages 15.5 points per game.

“I feel like Flagg goes after everything and runs the floor,” said Williams, who says the Cats need to wear him down to get the win.