The Ghosts of Indy: Kentucky’s Nightmares Continue With A Loss To The Vols

DrewFranklinKSR

kentucky-tennessee-lucas-oil — The Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers prepare for tipoff Friday, March 28, 2025, during the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The ghosts of Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium haunted Kentucky in the Sweet 16, where the Wildcats’ first season under Mark Pope ended at the hands of the Tennessee Vols. Right away, Tennessee set the tone as the team that wanted it more, playing with the 0-2 chip on its shoulder from the regular season sweep.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but Tennessee was the far better team when the stakes were the highest, earning a spot in the Elite Eight by controlling the game throughout. Kentucky led by one point for only 32 seconds two minutes into the game. It was all Tennessee from there.

Rebounding was a problem for the Wildcats. Defense, too. Kentucky allowed 43 first-half points and 78 in the end. Kentucky also struggled to score, especially from outside, hitting only six 3-pointers in the loss after draining 24 of 48 from outside in the two regular-season wins. The Wildcats needed to make 3s to win Round 3 and got off only 15 attempts. Lamont Butler had the only hot hand, hitting 4 of 5 from outside. Kentucky’s sharpshooter, Koby Brea, made his first try and missed his next three. The lack of scoring was a problem. Kentucky was 20 points shy of its season average.

Also a problem for the Wildcats: Indianapolis, the city that’s hosted three of Kentucky’s worst NCAA Tournament losses.

Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers face off Friday, March 28, 2025, during the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Five straight losses in Indianapolis; two straight heartbreakers in Lucas Oil Stadium

Indianapolis is a graveyard for Kentucky fans. Friday night’s Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee was Kentucky’s fifth straight loss in Indianapolis, going back to the 34-point loss to Duke in the 2018 Champions Classic. Kentucky lost the next two Champions Classics in Indianapolis, as well as the infamous Saint Peter’s upset in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

The five-game stretch is a run that BBN would love to forget:

November 6, 2018: Loss to Duke (84-118) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Champions Classic
December 1, 2020: Loss to Kansas (62-65) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Champions Classic
March 17, 2022: Loss to Saint Peter’s (79-85 OT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – NCAA East Regional First Round
November 15, 2022: Loss to Michigan State (77-86 2OT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Champions Classic
March 28, 2025: Loss to Tennessee (78-65) at Lucas Oil Stadium – NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals

The current five-game losing streak does not include the worst of the worst Indianapolis memories, when Kentucky’s undefeated season ended in the 2015 Final Four. The devastating loss to Wisconsin was Kentucky’s last time in Lucas Oil Stadium before Tennessee spoiled another UK tournament run in Lucas Oil in 2025.

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Lucas Oil has been a house of horrors since Aaron Harrison’s 2014 magic. Two games, two painful season-ending losses. The Final Four heads to Lucas Oil next year.

Insufferable Vols fans

Former Indianapolis Colt quarterback Peyton Manning celebrates after a Tennessee Volunteers basket Friday, March 28, 2025, during the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Never seeing the 2024-25 Wildcats play another basketball game together is the worst part of the season-ending loss to Tennessee. Mark Pope’s first collection of talent was a fan-favorite group for how they came together on the fly and battled injuries to win a school-record eight games over AP Top 15 opponents, ending with an appearance in the NCAA’s second weekend for the first time since 2019. The Big Blue Nation will miss this team dearly, and hated to see Pope’s first season end at the hands of the Vols.

Second to saying goodbye, the next hardest part of the loss will be the trash-talking ahead. Tennessee fans are an insufferable bunch, the worst of Kentucky’s rival fans, and they won’t soon let BBN forget that Tennessee won the only NCAA Tournament meeting in 241 games in the series. Kentucky’s 2-0 record in the regular season no longer matters in the rivalry banter. Winning five of six before the Sweet 16 isn’t a comeback in the argument, either. Even though Kentucky still holds a 163-79 record in head-to-heads, Tennessee won the biggest game of them all, and BBN will have to hear about it from south of the state line for years to come.

Still, Go Cats, even if Indianapolis and Tennessee are the worst.