Tuesday night’s home matchup against 16th-ranked North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge isn’t the only big non-conference rivalry game that awaits the No. 18 Kentucky basketball team in the short-term future.
22nd-ranked Indiana is another rival that second year coach Mark Pope’s Wildcats will host at Rupp Arena on Dec. 13. Kentucky leads the all-time series against the Hoosiers 32-25.
As a Wildcat fan, I unfortunately remember this series mostly for the buzzer-beating three-pointer that unranked Indiana’s Christian Watford hit to defeat top-ranked Kentucky 73-72 on Dec. 10, 2011, inside Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Luckily, UK got their revenge against the Hoosiers later that season by winning a high scoring 102-90 affair in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before going on to defeat Kansas for the national championship.
It’s also fun for college basketball fans whenever Kentucky battles Indiana on the court.
Dec. 13 will mark the first time UK and IU have met in hoops since a 73-67 Hoosier win over the Cats in the second round of the NCAA tourney on Mar. 19, 2016. It’s good to see the rivalry renewed after a long time.
Who doesn’t like rivalry games? They tend to bring out friendly trash talk and high-level intensity from players and fans which is always entertaining to see. This upcoming matchup between Kentucky and Indiana should be another one to watch.
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