Kentucky basketball vs. Tennessee all-time (15 different arenas)

(updated through regular season matchups in 2017)

Big Orange has been Kentucky's biggest problem in the SEC.  Sure, Florida has been a pain during the last two decades.  But no league opponent has a winning percentage over 30 against the Cats, other than the Vols.  They've been especially dangerous in Knoxville, of course, where UK has barely managed a winning record (see below).

UK's overall record is currently 153-69 against UT (68.9%).  69 wins is the most any team has against UK (followed by 47 for Vandy, 38 for Florida and 37 for Alabama).  The 222 meetings are easily the most in any series UK has played (followed by 189 meetings with Vandy and 149 with Georgia). 

Let's check out the breakdown.

Home games: 90-16 (84.9%)

Rupp Arena: 36-4 (90%) - only losses were in 1977, 1979, 1999 and 2006

Memorial Coliseum: 22-4 (84.6%) - losses were in 1960, 1963, 1967 and 1976

Alumni Gym: 23-2 (92%) - losses were in 1927 and 1939

Buell Armory Gym: 5-5 (50%) - losses were in 1917 (twice), 1920 (twice) and 1923

Woodland Auditorium: 4-1 (80%) - loss was in 1916

Road games: 52-49 (51.5%)

Thompson-Boling Arena: 16-13 (55.2%) - Games since 1988

Stokely Center: 5-16 (23.8%) - This was the ultimate house of horrors for UK basketball.  From 1967 through 1987 (late Rupp years, Hall and then Sutton), the Cats just couldn't do anything in Knoxville.  There were even two separate five-game road losing streaks in the series (1973-77 and 1979-83).

UT Armory Fieldhouse: 5-3 (62.5%) - Games between 1959 and 1966

Alumni Memorial Gymnasium: 17-7 (70.8%) - Games between 1933 and 1958

Jefferson Hall: 6-4 (60%) - Games between 1923 and 1932

Knoxville Central YMCA: 3-6 (33.3%) - Games between 1915 and 1920

Neutral sites: 11-4 (73.3%)

Bridgestone Arena (Nashville): 1-0 (100%) - 2010 SEC Tournament

Georgia Dome: 1-0 (100%) - 2005 SEC Tournament

Rupp Arena: 1-0 (100%) - 1993 SEC Tournament

Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center: 0-1 (0%) - 1979 SEC Tournament Championship

Jefferson County Armory (Louisville): 5-2 (71.4%) - lost 1941 and 1943 SEC Tournament Championships...won 1945 and 1950 SEC Tournament Championships...also won SEC Tournament games in 1948, 1949 and 1952

Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (Knoxville): 3-1 (75%) - lost in 1936 SEC Tournament...won 1937 SEC Tournament Championship...won 1939 SEC Tournament Championship...won in 1940 SEC Tournament

By type of game:

Regular season SEC home games: 73-9
Regular season SEC road games: 43-39
Regular season SEC neutral games: 0-0
Regular season SEC games overall: 116-48

Regular season non-SEC home games: 1-0 (1961 UKIT)

Regular season pre-SEC home games: 16-7
Regular season pre-SEC road games: 9-10

SEC Tournament: 11-4

By coach:

John Calipari (2010-present): 11-4 (7-0 at home, 3-4 in Knoxville, 1-0 SECT)

Billy Gillispie (2008-09): 3-1 (2-0 at home, 1-1 in Knoxville)

Tubby Smith (1998-2007): 15-6 (8-2 at home, 6-4 in Knoxville, 1-0 in SECT)

Rick Pitino (1990-97): 14-3 (8-0 at home, 5-3 in Knoxville, 1-0 in SECT)

Eddie Sutton (1986-89): 6-2 (4-0 at home, 2-2 in Knoxville)

Joe B. Hall (1973-85): 11-16 (10-3 at home, 1-12 in Knoxville, 0-1 in SECT)

Adolph Rupp (1931-72): 72-20 (37-4 at home, 27-13 in Knoxville, 8-3 in SECT)

John Mauer (1928-1930): 5-1 (3-0 at home, 2-1 in Knoxville)

Basil Hayden (1927): 0-2 (0-1 at home, 0-1 in Knoxville)

Ray Eklund (1926): 2-0 (1-0 at home, 1-0 in Knoxville)

Clarence Applegran (1925): 2-0 (1-0 at home, 1-0 in Knoxville)

George Buchheit (1920-24): 1-6 (0-3 at home, 1-3 in Knoxville)

Andrew Gill (1919): 1-1 (1-0 at home, 0-1 in Knoxville)

Stanley Boles (1918): 4-0 (2-0 at home, 2-0 in Knoxville)

William Tuttle (1917): 0-4 (0-2 at home, 0-2 in Knoxville)

James Park (1916): 0-1 (at home)

Alpha Brumage (1914-15): 4-2 (4-0 at home, 0-2 in Knoxville)

Edwin Sweetland (1910-12): 2-0 (at home) 

By opposing coach:

Rick Barnes: 2-2 against UK (Calipari)

Cuonzo Martin: 1-4 against UK (Calipari)

Bruce Pearl: 4-9 against UK (2-2 vs. Tubby, 1-3 vs. Billy G, 1-4 vs. Cal)

Buzz Peterson: 1-8 against UK (Tubby)

Jerry Green: 3-5 against UK (Tubby)

Kevin O'Neill: 0-6 against UK (Pitino)

Wade Houston: 3-8 against UK (Pitino)

Don DeVoe: 11-12 against UK (2-6 vs. Sutton, 9-6 vs. Hall)

Cliff Wettig: 0-2 against UK (Hall)

Ray Mears: 15-15 against UK (7-3 vs. Hall, 8-12 vs. Rupp)

John Sines: 1-6 against UK (Rupp)

Emmett Lowery: 1-25 against UK (Rupp)

John Mauer: 7-15 against UK (Rupp)

Blair Gullion: 3-5 against UK (Rupp)

W.H. Britton: 3-15 against UK (0-10 vs. Rupp, 1-5 vs. Mauer, 2-0 vs. Hayden)

M. Beal Banks: 3-4 against UK (0-2 vs. Eklund, 0-2 vs. Applegran, 3-0 vs. Buchheit)

John Bender: 7-1 against UK (3-1 vs. Buchheit, 4-0 vs. Tuttle)

R.H. Fitzgerald: 1-5 against UK (0-4 vs. Boles, 1-1 vs. Gill)

Zora Clevenger: 3-5 against UK (1-0 vs. Park, 2-4 vs. Brumage, 0-1 vs. Sweetland)

Solon Kipp: 0-1 against UK (Sweetland)

What SEC road sites have been most difficult for UK?

(Updated through road win at Georgia on 2/18/17)

It's no secret that UK has dominated the SEC in basketball.  Especially in Lexington.  Their combined home conference record against current league members?  520-54, a winning percentage of 90.6%.  Ridiculous!

The road has, of course, been significantly tougher.  But UK has still performed to an elite level in opposing conference venues.  Let's rank the opponents from easiest to toughest.

UK's all-time record in conference regular season road games at:

1) Columbia MO (Missouri) - 100% (2-0)
2) Sewanee - 100% (1-0) - left SEC after 1940
3) New Orleans (Tulane) - 76.9% (10-3) - left SEC after 1966
4) Columbia SC (South Carolina) - 75% (18-6)
5) Starkville (MSU) - 73.3% (34-12)
6) Oxford (Ole Miss) - 73.6% (28-10)
7) Athens (UGA) - 72.7% (40-15)
8) Auburn - 68.2% (30-14)
8) Atlanta (Georgia Tech) - 68.2% (15-7) - left SEC after 1964
10) College Station (A&M) - 66.7% (2-1)
11) Nashville (Vandy) - 66.3% (53-27)
12) Baton Rouge (LSU) - 60.9% (28-18)
13) Tuscaloosa (Alabama) - 58.5% (31-22)
14) Gainesville (Florida) - 58.3% (35-25)
15) Knoxville (Tennessee) - 52.4% (43-39)
16) Fayetteville (Arkansas) - 46.2% (6-7)

TOTAL: 64.6% (376-206)

TOTAL AGAINST CURRENT MEMBERS: 64.1% (350-196)

These results probably don't seem very surprising.  Fayetteville, Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Baton Rouge and Nashville are exactly what you'd expect are the top tier of difficulty for the Cats.  They've had some battles (and some nightmarish losses) in all of those locales.

Still - how crazy is it that only ONE league team even has a non-losing home record against UK?  The perfectionist in me wants UK to ruin that mark, too!

What if we look at more recent history?  Just the last TEN road games at these places?

Columbia, MO - 100% (2-0)
Auburn - 80% (8-2)
Starkville - 80% (8-2)
Athens - 70% (7-3)
Oxford - 70% (7-3)
Columbia, SC - 70% (7-3)
College Station - 67% (2-1)
Baton Rouge - 60% (6-4)
Tuscaloosa - 60% (6-4)
Fayetteville - 50% (5-5)
Nashville - 50% (5-5)
Gainesville - 40% (4-6)
Knoxville - 40% (4-6)


And just under Calipari?

Starkville - 100% (5-0)
Columbia, MO - 100% (2-0)
Auburn - 80% (4-1)
Oxford - 75% (3-1)
Nashville - 71% (5-2)
Athens - 67% (4-2)
Columbia, SC - 67% (4-2)
College Station - 67% (2-1)
Tuscaloosa - 60% (3-2)
Baton Rouge - 60% (3-2)
Gainesville - 50% (4-4)
Knoxville - 42% (3-4)
Fayetteville - 25% (1-3)

His total SEC road regular season mark is 43-24 (64.2%)

UK's History in the SEC Tournament by Location

(updated after 2016 tournament in Nashville)

The Kentucky Wildcats officially have 29 SEC tournament titles (through 2016).  They've actually won 30, but forfeited the 1988 title to Georgia.

UK's all-time record in the SEC Tournament is 127-25 (83.6%)

Winning percentage by city:
1) Memphis 6-0 (100%)
2) Louisville 43-3 (93.5%)
3) Nashville 17-2 (89.5%)
4) Lexington 8-1 (88.9%)
5) Knoxville 10-2 (83.3%)
5) New Orleans 7-2 (77.7%)
7) Atlanta 24-8 (75%)
8) Baton Rouge 3-1 (75%)
9) Birmingham 8-5 (61.5%)
10) Tampa 1-1 (50%)


Winning percentage by venue:
1) Pyramid (Memphis) 6-0 (100%)
1) Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville) 3-0 (100%)
1) Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge) 3-0 (100%)
4) Jefferson County Armory (Louisville) 43-3 (93.5%)
5) Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (Knoxville) 10-1 (90.9%)
6) Rupp Arena (Lexington) 8-1 (88.9%)
7) Bridgestone Arena / Gaylord Entertainment Center 14-2 (87.5%)
8) Superdome (New Orleans) 5-1 (83.3%)
9) Georgia Dome (Atlanta) 20-5 (80%)
9) Atlanta Municipal Auditorium 4-1 (80%)
11) New Orleans Arena 2-1 (66.7%)
12) Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 8-5 (61.5%)
13) St. Pete Times Forum 1-1 (50%)
14) Huey Long Field House (Baton Rouge) 0-1 (0%)
14) Omni (Atlanta) 0-1 (0%)
14) Alexander Memorial Coliseum (Atlanta) 0-1 (0%)
14) Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville) 0-1 (0%)


Total winning percentage by site type:
Home 8-1 (88.9%)
Other schools' home courts 16-3 (84.2%)
Regional/neutral 103-21 (83.1%)


Titles by city:
1) Louisville - 9 (1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952)
2) Atlanta - 6 (1933, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2011)
3) Nashville - 5 (1984, 2001, 2010, 2015, 2016)
4) Knoxville - 3 (1937, 1939, 1940)
5) Lexington - 2 (1986, 1993)
5) Memphis - 2 (1994, 1997)
7) New Orleans - 1 (2003)
7) Birmingham - 1 (1992)
7) Baton Rouge - 1 (1988) <-----vacated 

Titles by venue:
1) Jefferson County Armory - 9
2) Georgia Dome - 5
3) Bridgestone / Gaylord Entertainment Center - 4
4) Alumni Memorial Gymnasium - 3
5) Pyramid - 2
5) Rupp Arena - 2
7) Superdome - 1
7) Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center - 1
7) Memorial Gymnasium - 1
7) Atlanta Municipal Auditorium - 1


UK's title-winning percentage by city 
1) Memphis 2 of 2 (100%)
2) Louisville 9 of 12 (75%)
3) Nashville 5 of 7 (71.4%)
4) Lexington 2 of 3 (66.7%)
5) Knoxville 3 of 5 (60%)
6) Atlanta 6 of 14 (42.9%)
7) New Orleans 1 of 3 (33.3%)
8) Birmingham 1 of 6 (16.7%)
9) Tampa 0 of 1 (0%)
10) Baton Rouge 0 of 2 (0%) - won 1 but vacated

Among other websites consulted, one of my main sources for this and many other posts is the peerless UK resource (and probably the best site of its kind for any sports team) known as "The Kentucky Basketball Statistics Project" operated by Jon Scott.  Available at http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/statistics.html