the shrewdness of apes

it's a rivalry almost as lopsided as Red Sox - Yankees although it may be known to only a handful of dedicated rooters. but it does represent the 3rd most common matchup in NCAA tournament history and it happens again tonight. it's the Utah Runnin' Utes versus the Kentucky Wildcats, and though Utah can always lord it over Kentucky that they (Utah) won an NCAA basketball championship 4 years before Kentucky ever did, in head-to-head action Kentucky has ruled the roost in this battle of schols representing states with negative stereotypes (who do you pull for, the polygamists or the hillbillys?).

where has this rivalry come from? is it just random chance? has the selection committee made it a point to put the teams in position to clash? and if so, why? consider the history since 1993 (much thanks to whoever runs the Bracketville site from where much of this info came):

1993 - Kentucky polishes the floor with the boys from Salt Lake in a second round matchup 83-62.
1994 - nothin' doin'.
1995 - the teams are placed on opposite sides of the bracket; Kentucky in its customary #1 seed, and Utah at a more beatable #4. they get nowhere close to playing each other. bonus Utah note: Ogden-based #14 seed Weber St. shocks Michigan St. in the first round but loses out on a potential battle with Kentucky when they fall to Georgetown at the buzzer.
1996 - a Sweet 16 matchup is anything but as Kentucky pounds Utah as flat as the old Bonneville lake bed 101-70.
1997 - the teams are the #1 and #2 seeds in the West regional and the hicks topped the Mormons by the eerily prescient score of 78-69 in the regional final.
1998 - the ultimate showdown. Kentucky survived scares from Duke and Stanford to make the final, while the Utes cruised past Arizona and powered past UNC. Utah led by 10 points at halftime, but was powerless to stop the 'Cats onslaught in the 2nd half, eventually losing 78-69. future NBAers in this game included Nazr Mohammed, Jamaal Magloire, Andre Miller and Michael Doleac.
1999 - the 'Cats and Utes get the #2 and #3 seeds in the midwest, but their impending collision is derailed by the Szcerbiak led Cinderellas of Miami (Ohio), wo knock off Utah 66-58 in the 2nd round.
2000 - the two teams snag the #5 (Kentucky) and #8 (Utah) seeds in the Midwest bracket, but the anticipated matchup never materialzes when they lose their 2nd round games to Syracuse and Michigan St. repsectively.
2001 - Utah fails to qualify, though Utah State does pull a 1st round upset over Ohio State.
2002 - the teams are actually seeded on opposite sides of the bracket. Utah loses to eventual finalist Indiana in the 1st round, while Kentucky loses to eventual champion Maryland in the Sweet 16.
2003 - In the 2nd round, Kentucky crushes the 9th seeded Utes 74-54.

that makes for 5 games over a 11-12 year period - all won by the Wildcats - with a few more games that could have happened had the teams won another game or two. tonight they tip off at 9:40pm for the right to play the winner of the Duke-Michigan State game. can the Utes finally break through? they've looked good thus far and this is a pretty non-descript Kentucky team, so i'm going to take the 4.5 points.