Great Moments in the History of Kentucky vs. Kansas

Editor’s Note: Originally published in 2017, this post has been updated with the latest developments in the long history between the Wildcats and Jayhawks.

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College basketball’s two winningest programs have met 32 times, with the Cats leaving the court victorious 23 times. Calipari is 4-6 against Kansas, Self is 6-5 vs. Kentucky and the Wildcats are 5-4 in the Champions Classic.

1976: Kansas Opens Rupp Arena

It was fitting that the first game in Rupp Arena opened with a game against Rupp’s alma mater. Jack Givens, Mike Phillips and Rick Robey took the Jayhawks behind the woodshed in a dominating 27-point victory.

1978: #10 Kentucky 67, #5 Kansas 66

Trailing by six with less than 30 seconds to play, the Cats found a way to come back without the help of a three-point line.

1989: UK 95, #2 Kansas 150

In Rick Pitino’s first season at Kentucky, the Cats took a beating, the second-largest margin of defeat in program history. My favorite Rick Pitino-UK story comes from Gene Wojciechowski’s The Last Great Game:

The Kansas lead grew.  UK was out of timeouts. Jayhawks coach Roy Williams yelled out to Pitino late in the game, “Rick what do you want me to do. We’ve got the third team in. Do you want me to call the timeout for you?”

“Go f*** yourself,” said Pitino, according to those on press row.

“You know what you can do with your ****ing timeout.”

1999 NCAA Tourney 2nd Round: UK 92, KU 88 (OT)

Kansas couldn’t keep up with Kentucky’s one-two punch of Scott Padgett and Wayne Turner. Padgett had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Turner added 19 points and 7 assists to lead Kentucky to a four-point overtime victory in New Orleans, a locale that’s never been kind to Kansas.

2011: #2 Kentucky 75, #12 Kansas 65

In the debut of the Champions Classic, Kentucky controlled the entire game with five players scoring in double figures.

2012 National Championship: UK 67, KU 59

If you’re reading this and this game isn’t one of the top five days in your life, I don’t know what to tell you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Use9XcNuxY&t=1s

2014: #1 Kentucky 72, #5 Kansas 40

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find video evidence of Bill Self’s opening press conference quote.  After taking a sip of water he said, “I was hoping that was vodka but no it’s just water.”

2016: #20 Kentucky 84, #4 Kansas 90 (OT)

We didn’t know how good Kentucky’s 2016 team was until they went toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks on the road.  Tyler Ulis was terrific (26 pts. 8 ast.) and Jamal Murray was magnificent (15 pts. 6 reb.) but the Cats had no answer for Wayne Selden (33 pts.).

2017: #4 Kentucky 73, #2 Kansas 79

The loudest loss in Rupp Arena history, the University of Kentucky invited officials from the Guinness Book of World Records to measure the decibels from the crowd before Bruce Buffer introduced the Wildcats surrounded by all eight of Kentucky’s National Championship trophies. Unfortunately, the crescendo was too early as Bam Adebayo and Co. had no answer for Josh Jackson. The future No. 4 overall pick had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Kansas victory.

2019: #8 Kentucky 71, #9 Kansas 63

The Wildcats ended a three-game losing streak against the Jayhawks the last time the two blue bloods met in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Without Udoka Azubuike in the lineup, Kentucky crashed the glass, out-rebounding Kansas by 13. Three players recorded double-doubles, led by P.J. Washington who scored 20 of his 14 points in the second half. Washington also had 13 rebounds, Reid Travis had 18 and 12, while Keldon Johnson posted 15 points and 10 boards.