< PreviousA look back at 20 of the most exciting Kentucky games played in Rupp Arena since 1976. By Corey Price UK Sports Network / UK Athletics PR & Athletics Communications@UKSportsNetwork n 9 L et’s go back in time, specifically to Sat- urday, Nov. 27, 1976. British singer Rod Stewart had a stranglehold on American radio with his hit “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” spending its ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Actor Henry Winkler’s portrayal of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonza- relli lured Americans to tune their televisions into ABC on Tuesday nights to watch “Happy Days.” On the big screen, people flocked to see the first film adaptation of a Stephen King novel as “Carrie” was at the top of the box of- fice. To put into context for the fans of the Big Blue Nation, current men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope was just four years old. Also on Nov. 27, 1976, the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was gear- ing up to begin its 74th season against the Wisconsin Badgers and begin its first season in its new home arena. After 25 successful seasons playing on campus at Memorial Coliseum, the Wildcats moved to downtown Lexington and into spacious Rupp Arena. Kentucky was victorious in its opening game defeating Wisconsin, 72-64. When the Wildcats tip off on Nov. 4, 2025 against Nicholls, it will be the start of the 50th season of Kentucky basketball inside of Rupp Arena. In the previous 49 seasons, Kentucky racked up 676 wins on its home court. With the history, success, and tradition of the program, the Wildcats have had many remarkable wins at the fabled arena. To cele- brate the 50th season of Kentucky basketball in Rupp Arena, let’s look back in time at what I believe to be the top 20 wins for the Wildcats in Rupp Arena. Dec. 9, 1978: No. 10 Kentucky..................................67 No. 5 Kansas................................66 (OT) In an Associated Press Top-10 clash, it appeared as though Kansas was on its way to getting just its second win against Ken- tucky. In overtime, the Jayhawks led, 66-60, with just 31 seconds remaining. Miracles, however, do happen. Dwight Anderson’s basket with 22 seconds left trimmed the lead to four. On the ensuing inbounds pass, KU’s Darnell Valentine was called for a foul. Anderson missed the free throw but got the rebound and was fouled again. This time, he knocked down both free throws cutting the lead to two points with 10 seconds left. An- derson was clutch again, stealing the Kan- sas inbounds pass and heaving the ball into midair, Kyle Macy retrieved the ball and hit a 15-foot jump shot with three seconds left to tie the game, 66-66. Then, Kansas called a timeout. However, the Jayhawks were out of timeouts, so a technical foul was called. Macy knocked down the free throw and the miraculous comeback was complete. Ken- tucky won the game, 67-66. Macy led Wild- cats in scoring with 15 points. Dec. 15, 1979: No. 5 Kentucky....................................69 No. 1 Indiana.......................................58 Indiana entered the game ranked No. 1. This was Kentucky’s first-ever game against a No.1-ranked opponent in Rupp Arena. The Hoosiers raced out to a 32-20 lead in the first half. The momentum of the game completely shifted when Dwight An- derson threw down a monstrous dunk and was fouled. He completed the three-point play electrifying the crowd. That play be- gan an 8-0 run for the Wildcats. Indiana’s lead was just three points at halftime, 39- 36. Kentucky scored the first four points to begin the second half. The Wildcats re- gained the lead for the first time since early in the game and never looked back. Ken- tucky held the Hoosiers scoreless for more than seven minutes and extended its lead to 66-53. The Wildcats won the game, 69- 58, the program’s third-ever win against a No.1-ranked opponent, and their first since March 22, 1975 against Indiana. Kyle Macy, an Indiana native, led Kentucky in scoring with 12 points. March 1, 1981: No. 9 Kentucky....................................73 No. 2 LSU............................................71 LSU entered Rupp Arena hoping to spoil Kentucky’s Senior Day. The Tigers were the hottest team in college basketball sport- ing a 27-1 record, including a 26-game winning streak. If they could defeat Ken- tucky, LSU would become the first team to finish SEC regular season play unde- feated since the 1955-56 Alabama squad. The Wildcats had other things in mind and wanted revenge for their 81-67 loss to the Tigers earlier in the season. Kentucky led, 36-30, at halftime. The Wildcats extended their lead to 57-48 with 11 minutes left in the game. LSU clawed back and cut UK’s lead to just two points, 73-71, in the final minute. With 10 seconds remaining, LSU’s Howard Carter drove to the basket in an effort to tie the game. Sam Bowie blocked Carter’s shot and Kentucky dribbled out the clock to secure the victory. In a bal- anced effort, the Wildcats had four play- ers lead the team in scoring with 11 points (Bowie, Dirk Minniefield, Melvin Turpin, Chuck Verderber). Dec. 4, 1982: No. 3 Kentucky ...................................93 No. 4 Villanova....................................79 In an Associated Press Top-Five battle between Wildcats, Kentucky welcomed Villanova to Rupp Arena for the first match- up between the two programs since Dec. 29, 1949. Kentucky made 65.5-percent of its first-half field-goal attempts and took a commanding 13-point lead into half- time, 48-35. Villanova kept chipping away at the lead in the second half cutting UK’s advantage to four points, 81-77. Kentucky thwarted Villanova’s comeback attempt, though, scoring 12 of the game’s final 14 points to win the game, 93-79. Dirk Minnief- ield was the facilitator on offense, dishing out a then-school-record 14 assists. Der- rick Hord led Kentucky in scoring with 26 points. Sam Bowie scored 11 points in Kentucky's, 73-71, win over LSU on Senior Day in Rupp Arena in 1981. 10 n @KentuckyMBB Nov. 26, 1983: No. 2 Kentucky....................................65 No. 6 Louisville....................................44 The Wildcat faithful were looking for- ward to this game ever since Louisville end- ed Kentucky’s season in the NCAA Tourna- ment Mideast Regional Finals on March 26 of the previous season. The Common- wealth was excited for this game. It was the first regular-season meeting between the Bluegrass rivals since Jan. 21, 1922. Kentucky smothered Louisville on defense in the first half. The Wildcats, with the help of a 13-0 run, raced out to a 15-point, 35- 20, halftime lead. Kentucky went on to score 20 of the first 26 points in the second half extending its lead to, 55-26. Kentucky cruised the remainder of the game defeat- ing the Cardinals, 65-44. The difference in the contest was at the charity stripe, where Kentucky outscored Louisville by 25. Jim Master led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points. Jan. 22, 1984: No. 3 Kentucky ...................................74 No. 4 Houston.....................................67 While football fans were preparing for the Super Bowl XVIII match-up between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Wash- ington Redskins, college basketball fans were in for an Associated Press Top-Five Super Bowl Sunday clash between Ken- tucky and Houston’s “Phi Slama Jama” who advanced to the national champion- ship game the previous season. This was the second-ever meeting between the schools and the first since Dec. 29, 1956. The Cougars jumped out to an 11-1-lead. The Wildcats came roaring back, though, and by halftime Kentucky went to the lock- er room with a, 35-31, lead. In the second half, Houston’s All-American Akeem (Ha- keem) Olajuwon fouled out with 6:14 left in the game. With Olajuwon on the bench, the Cougars managed to cut the Wildcats’ lead to three points in the final minutes. That’s as close as Houston would get, though, as Kentucky prevailed, 74-67. Kenny Walker led the Wildcats in scoring with 20 points. March 24, 1984: (NCAA Tournament) No. 3 Kentucky....................................54 No. 6 Illinois........................................51 There has not been a more meaningful Kentucky game played in Rupp Arena than on March 24, 1984. That day, No. 1 seeded Kentucky tipped off against No. 2 seed Illi- nois in the NCAA Tournament Mideast Re- gional Finals with a spot in the Final Four going to the victor. A game of this magni- tude lived up to the hype. The teams bat- tled back and forth. Kentucky’s largest lead in the first half was just five points and the Wildcats went into halftime with a 24-22 lead. Early in the second half, Kentucky ex- panded its lead to seven points. The Fight- ing Illini, then, rallied to tie the game at 36 with 10:32 remaining. The game remained close during the final minutes. With the Wildcats clinging to a 52-50 lead with 14 seconds left, UK’s Dicky Beal was fouled. Beal stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank two shots. Illinois made a free throw with a couple seconds left, but it was too little too late and Kentucky advanced to its first Final Four since 1978. Melvin Turpin led Kentucky in scoring with 13 points. Dec. 28, 1985: No. 13 Kentucky..................................69 No. 15 Louisville..................................64 Kentucky welcomed intrastate rival, and eventual national champion, Louis- ville, into Rupp Arena for another Battle of the Bluegrass, the first for new UK head coach Eddie Sutton. Excluding a couple of brief one-point leads for the Cardinals, the Wildcats had control for most of the first half. Kentucky led, 33-30, at halftime. The second half was close throughout. UK’s Ed Davender’s two free throws with five seconds remaining sealed a, 69-64, vic- tory for the Wildcats. It was the Wildcats' third win against the Cardinals in the last four matchups between the rivals. Winston Bennett, a Louisville native, led Kentucky in scoring with 23 points. Feb. 15, 1990: Kentucky...........................................100 No. 9 LSU............................................95 New UK head coach Rick Pitino provid- ed a spark of excitement for the Wildcat faithful, but the season was still a rebuild in progress. Heading into its game against No. 9 LSU, Kentucky had a 12-10 record, in- cluding a 13-point loss to the Tigers on Jan. 13 in Baton Rouge. The Wildcats jumped out to a surprising 41-18 first-half lead. By intermission, though, LSU had managed to cut the Kentucky advantage to 12 points (48-36). The Wildcats maintained the lead throughout the second half, but the game tightened after a Chris Jackson (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) 3-point shot cut UK’s lead to 94-92 with 1:12 left. Richie Farmer made six free throws in the final 1:02 of the con- test to ice the 100-95 victory. Derrick Miller led Kentucky in scoring with 29 points. Dec. 12, 1998: No. 5 Kentucky..................................103 No. 2 Maryland....................................91 The defending national champions welcomed Maryland to Lexington for the first-ever matchup between the two schools in Rupp Arena. Both teams were ranked among the nation’s top five and played evenly throughout the first 14 min- utes of the game. Then, Kentucky found its rhythm outscoring the Terrapins, 21-8 in the final six minutes to take a 54-41 lead into halftime. The Wildcats’ lead grew to as On Feb. 15, 1990, Richie Farmer made six free throws in the final minute of the game to seal Kentucky's, 100-95, victory over LSU.@UKSportsNetwork n 11 many as 17 points early in the second half, but Maryland mounted a comeback. The Terrapins cut the lead to seven points with 5:33 left, but Kentucky later pulled away to secure a 103-91 win. Heshimu Evans led the Wildcats in scoring with a career-high 31 points. Dec. 23, 1999: Kentucky.............................................60 No. 5 Michigan State...........................58 Kentucky, who had been ranked No. 14 in preseason polls, limped into the match- up with eventual national champion Mich- igan State with a 5-4 record. The Wildcats got off to a slow start as the Spartans raced out to a 26-11 lead. Midway through the first half, Kentucky found a spark ending the half on a 16-2 run and cutting Michigan State’s lead to just one point at halftime, 28-27. The Spartans grew their lead to 39- 32 to begin the second half. With stingy de- fensive play, the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game. A J.P. Blevins’ 3-point shot with 7:21 remaining in the game gave Kentucky its first lead at 50-49. Tayshaun Prince later made two free throws with 1:09 left that proved the difference in the game. Jamaal Magloire led Kentucky in scoring with 18 points. Jan. 16, 2001: Kentucky.............................................84 No. 4 Tennessee..................................74 For the first time, Kentucky welcomed an Associated Press Top-Five ranked Ten- nessee team to Rupp Arena for their annual border battle. The Wildcats, not intimidat- ed by the Volunteers lofty ranking, led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Tennes- see chipped away at the deficit and Ken- tucky went into halftime with a 46-38 lead. The Wildcats quickly deflated any hopes of a Tennessee rally. Kentucky went on a 16-2 run expanding its lead to 67-49 with 11:39 remaining in the game. Tennessee would manage to cut the lead to seven points late in the game, but Kentucky sent Tennessee back to Knoxville with an 84-74 loss. Keith Bogans, who guaranteed UK’s victory ear- lier in the week, led the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points. Feb. 4, 2003: No. 6 Kentucky....................................70 No. 1 Florida.......................................55 Both Kentucky and Florida entered this game with double-digit win streaks (UK-10 straight; UF-14 straight). Florida also came into the game ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history. The teams battled back and forth throughout the first 12 minutes of the game, with Matt Walsh’s two free throws cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 22- 18 with 7:49 left in the first half. Over the next seven minutes, Kentucky’s defense smothered the Gators. The Wildcats went on a 21-2 run, capped off by a Keith Bogans alley-oop to Chuck Hayes, that expanded the Wildcats’ lead to 23 points and sent the fans in Rupp Arena into an absolute fren- zy. Kentucky opened the second half with more of the same. The Cats raced out to a 29-point lead, 60-31, with 12:49 remaining in the game. Kentucky cruised to a 70-55 win over top-ranked Florida. Bogans led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points. Jan. 22, 2008: Kentucky.............................................72 No. 3 Tennessee..................................66 Kentucky and Tennessee entered the border showdown in Rupp Arena heading in seemingly opposite directions. The Wild- cats were 7-9 on the season, with just three wins in their previous 11 games. Tennes- see entered the game with a 16-1 record, including an 11-game winning streak. The Volunteers imposed their will early in the game, growing the lead to as many as 10 points in the first half. Tennessee led 36-30 at halftime. The Volunteers led by as many as 10 points at the beginning of the second half before Kentucky began battling back. With 2:19 left in the game, Kentucky tied the score at 60. Then, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run (all on free throws) to seal the 72-66 victory. No. 3-ranked Tennessee became the highest-ranked opponent that an unranked UK squad had ever defeated in Rupp Arena. Patrick Patterson led Kentucky in scoring with 20 points. Dec. 5, 2009: No. 5 Kentucky....................................68 No. 10 North Carolina..........................66 In the first premier matchup of the John Calipari era, Kentucky and defending na- tional champion North Carolina met with both teams ranked in the top 10. The Tar Heels held an early, 9-2, lead. Then, Ken- tucky went on a 28-2 run, capped off by Patrick Patterson’s two free throws, giving the Wildcats a 30-11 lead with 8:44 left in the first half. The Wildcats went into half- time with a 43-28 lead. In the second half, the Tar Heels showed why they were the defending national champions. North Carolina chipped away at Kentucky’s lead throughout the second half. UNC’s Deon Thompson scored with 32 seconds left in the game to cut UK’s lead to 63-61. John Wall hit two free throws in the final seconds to give Kentucky the 68-66 win. Patterson led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points. Dec. 3, 2011: No. 1 Kentucky....................................73 No. 5 North Carolina............................72 No. 1-ranked Kentucky welcomed a No. 5 North Carolina team into Lexington. The game was the first Associated Press Top- Five matchup between the two programs in Rupp Arena. Kentucky had an early 9-3 lead three minutes into the game. North Caroli- On Dec. 5, 2009, John Wall drained two free throws in the final seconds to give Kentucky a 68-66 win over North Carolina.na, then, outscored the Wildcats 31-16 over the next 10 minutes to take its largest lead of the game, 34-25. Kentucky narrowed the lead to 43-38 at halftime. The second half was tightly contested, with neither team having a lead greater than six points throughout the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats’ largest lead in the second half was five points, but their lead was cut to a razor thin one point with 20 sec- onds left and the Tar Heels with possession of the ball. North Carolina got the ball to John Henson, and he attempted a shot with seven seconds left, but freshman sensation Antho- ny Davis swatted it away sealing Kentucky’s thrilling 73-72 victory. The Wildcats went on to win the 2012 national championship. Mi- chael Kidd-Gilchrist led Kentucky in scoring with 17 points. Dec. 31, 2011: No. 3 Kentucky........................................69 No. 4 Louisville........................................62 Kentucky had its second top-five match- up in Rupp Arena in a span of four weeks. They faced Louisville in the first-ever top-five matchup between the two schools in the se- ries' history. The anticipation for the annual rivalry is always high, but for this game, the pregame hype was at perhaps an all-time high. The Wildcats set the tone early in the contest, claiming their largest lead of the game at 15 points, 31-16. The Cardinals re- sponded with a 13-0 run and Kentucky’s lead was just 36-33 at halftime. Louisville carried its momentum into the second half, tying the game at 40. Kentucky later managed to increase its lead to 61-50 with 3:41 remain- ing and was never again challenged. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had his best game in a Wild- cats' uniform, setting career highs in both points (24) and rebounds (19). The teams would meet again in New Orleans in the 2012 NCAA Tournament Final Four. Feb. 16, 2019: No. 5 Kentucky....................................86 No. 1 Tennessee..................................69 For the first time ever, a No.1-ranked Ten- nessee squad was coming to Rupp Arena. The Volunteers came into the game with a 23-1 record, including a 19-game winning streak. Tennessee scored the first basket of the game on a Jordan Boone jumper with 19:11 remaining in the first half. Little did the Volunteers know that that would be their only lead of the game. The Wildcats’ lead grew to as many as eight points in the first half. Ken- tucky’s lead heading into halftime was 37-31. The Wildcats scored 16 unanswered points to open the second half and their lead swelled to 51-31 with 16:36 remaining in the second half. Kentucky enjoyed its largest lead of the game, 62-38, with 12:37 left in the game. The Volunteers had no answers as the Wildcats defeated No.1-ranked Tennessee 86-69. It was the Wildcats’ second largest margin of victory ever against a No. 1-ranked team, and their largest in Rupp Arena. P.J. Wash- ington led Kentucky in scoring with 23 points. Dec. 28, 2019: No. 19 Kentucky......................................78 No. 3 Louisville................................70 (OT) Kentucky entered its annual rivalry game with Louisville on a two-game losing streak. The Cardinals were entering the game ranked No. 3, after being ranked No. 1 just two weeks prior. The game was a back-and-forth battle which 40 minutes was not enough to decide. Louisville had its largest lead of the first half 6-2. In the final 2:30 of the first half, the Wild- cats went on a 9-2 run to take their largest lead of the first 20 minutes, 32-24. Three min- utes into the second half, Kentucky had its largest lead of the game at 38-26. Then, the Cardinals began slowly trimming the deficit. Louisville tied the game with a Lamarr Kim- ble layup with 13 seconds remaining and the game went into overtime, tied at 61. The Cardinals were clinging to a 68-65 lead half- way through the extra period. The Wildcats flipped the switch and ended the overtime on a 13-2 run, capped off by an emphatic dunk by Ashton Hagans with four seconds remain- ing. In a game that featured 11 ties and 19 lead changes, Kentucky defeated Louisville, 78-70, with Tyrese Maxey leading the Wild- cats in scoring with a career-high 27 points. Jan. 4, 2025: No. 10 Kentucky ...................................106 No. 6 Florida..........................................100 Kentucky and eventual national cham- pion Florida both entered their matchup ranked in the top 10 for the first time since Feb. 7, 2012. This was also the first top 10 match-up of the Mark Pope era. It was an un- usual 11 a.m. EST start time. If there was any fear that the teams would be groggy with the early tip-off time, that fear was extinguished at the very beginning. The Gators got the up- per hand and had extended their to 26-15 with 11:13 left in the first half. The Wildcats responded by going on a 16-0 run in under four minutes, to take a 31-26 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first half. Florida fought back to tie the game at 40, but Kentucky would pull away, ending the first half on a 12-2 run to lead 52-42 at the break. In the second half, the Gators would cut the Wildcats’ lead to just one point on three separate occasions. That’s as close as they would get the rest of the contest. Kentucky had an answer every time Florida would cut into the lead, and the Wildcats went on to defeat the Gators, 106- 100. It was a highly-efficient game, with both teams shooting at least 55-percent from the field and combining to make 26 three-point field goals. Koby Brea led Kentucky in scor- ing with 23 points. 12 n @KentuckyMBB Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 27 points in Kentucky's, 78-70, overtime victory against Louisville on Dec. 28, 2019.Loyola (Md.) Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Friday November Home Neutral Away Indiana Lexington, Ky. 7:30 p.m. Saturday December Oklahoma Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. February Purdue Lexington, Ky. 6:00 p.m. Friday October Exhibition St. John's Atlanta 12:30 p.m. Saturday December CBS Sports Classic Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. February Georgetown Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Thursday October Exhibition Bellarmine Lexington, Ky. 1:00 p.m. Tuesday December Florida Gainesville, Fla. 3:00 p.m. Saturday February Nicholls Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Tuesday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 1:00 p.m. Saturday January Georgia Lexington, Ky. 9:00 p.m. February Valparaiso Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Friday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism Missouri Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. January Auburn Auburn, Ala 8:30 p.m. Saturday February Louisville Louisville, Ky. 8:00 p.m. Tuesday November Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. Saturday January Eastern Illinois Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Friday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7:00 p.m. February Texas A&M College Station, Texas. 7:00 p.m. March Michigan State New York 6:30 p.m. Tuesday November State Farm Champions Classic LSU Baton Rouge, La.. 7:00 p.m. January Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 2:00 p.m. Saturday February Florida Lexington, Ky. 4:00 p.m. Saturday March Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 12:00 p.m. Saturday January SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Tues.-Sat. March 11-15 Tennessee Tech Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. November Texas Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. January NCAA Tournament Final Four® Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA March- April TBA North Carolina Lexington, Ky. 9:30 p.m. Tuesday December SEC/ACC Challenge Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 12:00 p.m. Saturday January Gonzaga Nashville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. Friday December Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 9:00 p.m. January North Caro. Central Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Tuesday December Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 6:30 p.m. Saturday January 2025-26 Basketball Schedule 14 n @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY BASKETBALLNext >