(updated through 2017 NCAA Tournament)
Kentucky and UCLA have now met 3 times in the tournament:
1975 - Wooden's last UCLA team beats Joe B. Hall's Cats in the title game, 92-85. Their 10th title (1995 is the only one since).
1998 - Tubby Smith's first UK team smacks Steve Lavin's Bruins around in a Sweet 16 matchup on the way to the Wildcats' 7th title.
2017 - Calipari's Wildcats knocked off Alford's Bruins in the Sweet 16, and then...we'll see!
Of course, these two programs are 1 (UCLA - 11) and 2 (UK - 8) in championships.
But UK dominates the college scene in so many other areas - overall wins and winning percentage, tournament wins and winning percentage, etc. etc. etc.
Still, since Calipari took over at UK, the games have been odd.
The Cats handed UCLA an embarrassment of a beatdown in Chicago in late 2014, 83-44 (after a truly unreal 41-7 halftime lead).
And then, in late 2015, they blew it at Pauley Pavilion against a subpar squad, losing by 10. UK didn't amount to much in 2015-16, falling in the second round to IU, but UCLA was even worse...they didn't even sniff the tournament. This was a bad loss.
Finally, a pair of matchups in the 2016-17 season. In the regular season meeting at Rupp, Kentucky put up absolutely NO defensive fight. UK fell by 5, and it didn't really feel that close.
The Cats exacted revenge in March, taking out UCLA 86-75 in the Sweet 16 behind 39 points from De'Aaron Fox.
Let's take a look at the history of this series.
Overall, UK is 8-6 (57.1%) against UCLA.
Kentucky is 2-1 in home games against UCLA (66.7%)
Memorial Coliseum: 2-0 (100%) - won in 1951 and 1961
Rupp Arena: 0-1 (0%) - lost in 2016
Kentucky is 1-1 in road games against UCLA (50%)
Los Angeles Sports Arena: 1-0 (100%) - won in 1959
Pauley Pavilion: 0-1 (0%) - lost in 2015
Kentucky is 5-4 at neutral sites against UCLA (55.6%)
FedExForum (Memphis): 1-0 (100%) - won South Regional Semifinal in 2017
United Center (Chicago): 1-0 (100%) - won CBS Sports Classic in 2014...that UK team barely fell short of an undefeated season
Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg): 1-0 (100%) - won South Regional Semifinal in 1998...that UK team won the national title
Eugenio Guerro Sports Complex (Puerto Rico): 1-0 (100%) - won 3rd place game in 1998 Puerto Rico Shootout
The Pond (Anaheim): 1-1 (50%) - won John Wooden Classic in 2003, lost in 1994
Lahaina Civic Center (Maui): 0-1 (0%) - lost Maui Classic semifinal in 2006...that UCLA team went to the Final Four
Madison Square Garden (New York): 0-1 (0%) - lost Coaches vs Cancer Classic in 2000
San Diego Sports Arena: 0-1 (0%) - lost NCAA Championship game in 1975
By Kentucky coach...
John Calipari: 2-2 against UCLA (0-1 home, 0-1 road, 2-0 neutral)
Tubby Smith: 3-2 against UCLA (all neutral sites, including 1-0 NCAA tournament)
Rick Pitino: 0-1 against UCLA ("neutral site" - the Pond)
Joe B. Hall: 0-1 against UCLA ('75 title)
Adolph Rupp: 3-0 against UCLA (2-0 home, 1-0 road)
By UCLA coach...
Steve Alford: 2-2 against UK (all vs. Calipari)
Ben Howland: 1-1 against UK (both vs. Smith)
Steve Lavin: 1-2 against UK (all vs. Smith)
Jim Harrick: 1-0 against UK (Pitino)
John Wooden: 1-3 against UK (1-0 vs. Hall, 0-3 vs. Rupp)
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