ESPN's Jay Bilas Ranks UC-Xavier Among Top-Three College Basketball Rivalries
CINCINNATI — ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas listed his top five college basketball rivalries this week and had UC-Xavier at No. 2 just behind Duke-North Carolina.
Kentucky-Lousiville, Illinois-Missouri, and St. Mary's-Gonzaga rounded out the top five.
"Number one would be Duke-North Carolina," Bilas said. "It's not just the pageantry and the passion. It's the success that those two programs have had over decades and decades. Next, I would say Xavier-Cincinnati. I've had the pleasure of calling that game over the years, that's as rabid a rivalry, as intense a rivalry you're gonna get and it just takes over the city. You still have to explain to me the whole chili over spaghetti thing. And I'd say Kentucky, Louisville, even though last year, it didn't match the hype and what we expect from the rivalry. It's two intense competitive programs that have shown the same kind of excellence as Duke and North Carolina."
Cincinnati is searching for its first road win against Xavier since 2001 on Dec. 9. The Bearcats lead the series 51-39 all-time but are just 1-9 at the Cintas Center.
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