What History Tells Us About Kentucky's Sweep of Tennessee

By learning about our past, we have a better idea of what’s going to happen in the future. If Kentucky‘s history with Tennessee is any indication, the Big Blue Nation is going to have one hell of a March.

Saturday afternoon Kentucky celebrated its 1996-97-98 basketball teams by smashing Tennessee to bits. The Wildcats took a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to a 66-54 victory. The upset over the then-fifth-ranked Vols in January at Thompson-Boling Arena looks like less of an upset after Saturday’s dominant day.

Kentucky has swept Tennessee for the first time since 2012. Remember what happened in 2012? John Calipari won his first National Championship at Kentucky. It’s no coincidence.

There’s one common denominator in all eight of Kentucky’s National Championships. Every single one of those title teams was unbeaten against Tennessee.

Of course, sweeping Tennessee does not mean a Kentucky basketball team will win a National Championship. However, under John Calipari it’s a sign of good things to come.

During Coach Cal’s 14 years in Lexington, Kentucky has gone unbeaten against the Vols four times: 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Each one of those Kentucky basketball seasons ended in the Final Four. The 2022-23 season is now in that elite company as John Calipari seeks out his first Final Four appearance since the unbeaten Cats were knocked off in Indianapolis eight years ago.

Reaching the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament once seemed impossible for these Wildcats. Now that Chris Livingston is rolling, Oscar Tshiebwe has snapped out of his funk and Cason Wallace is running the show, this team has the potential to click and make a deep run against a wide open field. If everything does come together for Cal’s Cats in March, we know who to thank, the Tennessee Volunteers.

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