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Bluebloods Battle as No. 12 Kentucky Visits No. 5 Kansas: Preview, How to Watch, Listen and Follow

Kansas will play host to Kentucky to headline the Big 12/SEC Challenge in a game between two national title contenders.

at
Sat., Jan. 29 – 6:00 p.m. ET
Allen Fieldhouse
Lawrence, Kan.
Game Notes: UK (PDF) | KU (PDF)
UK Athletics App
Coverage
TV: ESPN
Radio: Sports Network
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Live Stats

 

The buildup to Saturday's game between Kentucky and Kansas will be all about history. And why not? When talking about the most storied programs in college basketball, the conversation starts with Kentucky and Kansas.

Kentucky has won the most games of any college basketball program (2,343), while Kansas is second (2,340). Kentucky has won eight championships, which is second all-time. Kansas has claimed three titles, which is tied for seventh. Kentucky has been to 17 Final Fours, which is third all-time, while Kansas has appeared in 15 Final Fours, fifth in the history of the game.

There's also synergy between the programs. Legendary UK coach Adolph Rupp played at Kansas under “Phog” Allen, the namesake of KU's Allen Fieldhouse. Among the assistant coaches that Rupp played for at Kansas was James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

Current UK head coach  also spent some time in Lawrence. Calipari was an assistant for the Jayhawks under Ted Owens and Larry Brown from 1982-85.

And speaking of Calipari, he would be happy to tell you what all of this history means for Saturday's game – exactly nothing. This game is strictly about the 2022 Cats and Jayhawks.

Read full article here.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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