Kentucky basketball vs. UCLA all-time (10 different coaches, 11 different arenas)

(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)

Kentucky basketball vs. Georgia all-time (26 different coaches, 20 different arenas)

(Updated through regular season matchups in 2017)

Georgia has been a bit of a strange opponent for the Wildcats in basketball.  They seem so difficult at times (even putting up quite a fight in Rupp), but their overall results Kentucky are easily the worst of any of the longtime "SEC East" foes.  Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida have all given UK much more consistent trouble.  That is NOT to say that we look forward to any trip to Athens.  It's always a physical battle.

Let's get to the numbers...

Kentucky is 123-26 overall against Georgia (82.6%).  Their only better marks against SEC opponents?  Missouri (100%), Ole Miss (89%), Auburn (83.6%), and MSU (82.9%).

The only opponents UK has played more than 149 games against?  Tennessee (222) and Vanderbilt (189).

Kentucky is 60-5 at home vs. Georgia (92.3%)

Rupp Arena: 35-4 (89.7%) - the only losses were in 1985, 2002, 2004 and 2009

Memorial Coliseum: 19-0 (100%)

Alumni Gymnasium: 6-0 (100%)

Buell Armory Gym: 0-1 (0%) - loss was in 1923

Kentucky is 42-17 on the road at Georgia (71.2%)

Stegeman Coliseum (since 1965): 35-14 (71.4%) - longest winning streak there is 7, longest losing streak is 3

Woodruff Hall (1926-1964): 7-2 (77.8%) - losses were in 1931 and 1950

Moss Auditorium (1925): 0-1 (0%)

Kentucky is 21-4 at neutral sites vs. Georgia (84%)

Jefferson County Armory (Louisville): 5-0 (100%) - SEC Tournament wins in 1943, 1944, and 1950, plus regular season wins in 1952 and 1956

Georgia Dome (Atlanta): 2-0 (100%) - 2004 and 2014 SEC Tournament games

The Omni (Atlanta): 2-0 (100%) - two regular season neutral site games in 1979 and 1988

The Pyramid (Memphis): 1-0 (100%) - 1997 SEC Tournament Title game

Bridgestone Arena (Nashville): 1-0 (100%) - 2016 SEC Tournament

Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville): 1-0 (100%) - 1984 SEC Tournament

Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (Knoxville): 1-0 (100%) - 1940 SEC Tournament Championship

Owensboro Sportscenter: 1-0 (100%) - 1954 regular season game

Municipal Auditorium (Columbus, Georgia): 1-0 (100%) - 1960 regular season

Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge): 1-0 (100%) - 1988 SEC Tournament Championship (vacated)

Alexander Memorial Coliseum (Atlanta): 2-1 (66.7%) - regular season wins in 1958 and 1962, and the "Tornado game" loss in the 2008 SEC Tournament

Atlanta Municipal Auditorium: 3-2 (60%) - won 1921 SIAA Tournament Championship, lost in 1925 Southern Conference Tournament, won in 1926 Southern Conference Tournament, won in 1928 Southern Conference Tournament, lost in 1929 Southern Conference Tournament

Freedom Hall: 0-1 (0%) - lost in December 1986 under Sutton

By type of game:

SEC regular season home: 59-4

SEC regular season road: 40-15

SEC regular season neutral: 8-1

SEC regular season overall: 106-20

Pre-SEC regular season home: 1-1

Pre-SEC regular season road: 2-2

Regular season overall: 109-23

SEC Tournament: 10-1

Southern Conference Tournament: 2-2

SIAA Conference Tournament: 1-0

Postseason overall: 13-3

By UK coach:

John Calipari: 13-2 (7-0 home, 4-2 road, 2-0 SECT)

Billy Gillispie: 3-2 (1-1 home, 2-0 road, 0-1 SECT)

Tubby Smith: 16-5 (8-2 home, 7-3 road, 1-0 SECT)

Rick Pitino: 15-2 (8-0 home, 6-2 road, 1-0 SECT)

Eddie Sutton: 6-3 (3-0 home, 1-2 road, 1-1 neutral, 1-0 SECT)

Joe B. Hall: 23-4 (12-1 home, 9-3 road, 1-0 neutral, 1-0 SECT)

Adolph Rupp: 41-4 (20-0 home, 11-4 road, 6-0 neutral, 4-0 SECT)

John Mauer: 3-1 (1-0 home, 1-0 road, 1-1 SoCon Tournament)

Ray Eklund (1926): 2-0 (1-0 road, 1-0 SoCon Tournament)

Clarence Applegran (1925): 0-2 (0-1 road, 0-1 SoCon Tournament)

George Buchheit (1921, 1923): 1-1 (0-1 home, 1-0 SIAA Tournament)

By opposing coach:

Mark Fox (since 2010): 2-13 against Kentucky (all against Calipari)

Pete Herrmann (interim '09): 1-0 against Kentucky (vs. Billy G)

Dennis Felton (2004-09): 4-9 against Kentucky (3-6 vs. Tubby, 1-3 vs. Billy G)

Jim Harrick (2000-03): 2-6 against Kentucky (all against Tubby)

Ron Jirsa (1998-99): 0-4 against Kentucky (all against Tubby)

Tubby Smith (1996-97): 0-5 against Kentucky (all against Pitino)

Hugh Durham (1979-95): 8-28 against Kentucky (2-10 vs. Pitino, 3-6 vs. Sutton, 3-12 vs. Hall)

John Guthrie (1974-78): 1-9 against Kentucky (all against Hall)

Ken Rosemond (1966-73): 2-14 against Kentucky (0-2 vs. Hall, 2-12 vs. Rupp)

Red Lawson (1952-65): 0-15 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Jim Whatley (1949-51): 0-4 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Ralph Jordan (1946-49): 0-4 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Elmer Lampe (1940-45): 0-7 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Harry Mehre (1931): 1-0 against Kentucky (vs. Rupp)

Herman Stegeman (1921-30): 4-6 against Kentucky (1-1 vs. Buchheit, 2-0 vs. Applegran, 0-2 vs. Eklund, 1-3 vs. Mauer)

Which SEC opponents have won the most at Rupp Arena?

(updated through first 8 home games of 2017 SEC season)

Few visiting teams escape Rupp Arena with a victory.  UK has gone undefeated at home quite a number of times in their current confines, including:

Calipari:
2016
2015
2012
2011
2010

Tubby:
2005 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to KU)
2003 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to Michigan State)
2001 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to Penn State)
2000

Pitino:
1996
1993
1991
1990

Sutton:
1986

Hall:
1984
1982 (but did lose at Rupp in SEC Tournament)
1981
1978

But how have specific conference foes (and their coaches) fared?

Alabama: 5-23 in SEC regular season, 1-1 in SEC Tournament

2006 (Mark Gottfried vs. Tubby Smith) - won 68-64 (both were unranked)

2002 (Mark Gottfried vs. Tubby Smith) - won 64-61 (Bama was #14, UK was #8)

1989 (Wimp Sanderson vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 71-67 (both were unranked)

1987 (Wimp Sanderson vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 69-55 (UK was #9)

1980 (C.M. Newton vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 78-64 (UK was #4)

NOTE: They also won in 1982 SEC Championship in Rupp, and lost in 1986 SEC Championship.

Arkansas: 3-11 in SEC regular season, lost in 1993 SEC Tournament

2014 (Mike Anderson vs. John Calipari) - won 71-67 (OT) (UK was #17)

1994 (Nolan Richardson vs. Rick Pitino) - won 90-82 (Ark was #3, UK was #4)

1992 (Nolan Richardson vs. Rick Pitino) - won 105-88 (Ark was #9, UK was #8)

Auburn: 2-26 in SEC regular season, lost in 1982 SEC Tournament

1988 (Sonny Smith vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 53-52 (UK was #1)

1983 (Sonny Smith vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 75-67 (UK was #6)

Florida: 7-34 in SEC regular season

2014 (Billy Donovan vs. John Calipari) - won 69-59 (UF was #3, UK was #14)

2007 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 64-61 (UF was #1, UK was #20)

2006 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 79-64 (UF was #17, UK was unranked)

1998 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 86-78 (UK was #7)

1989 (Norman Sloan vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 59-53 (both were unranked)

1988 (Norman Sloan vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 58-56 (UK was #4)

1985 (Norman Sloan vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 67-55 (both were unranked)

Georgia: 4-35 in SEC regular season

2009 (Pete Herrmann vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 90-85 (both were unranked)

2004 (Dennis Felton vs. Tubby Smith) - won 65-57 (UK was #5)

2002 (Jim Harrick vs. Tubby Smith) - won 88-84 (UK was #8)

1985 (Hugh Durham vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 79-77 (UGA was #18, UK was unranked)

LSU: 5-24 in SEC regular season, 0-2 in SEC Tournament

2009 (Trent Johnson vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 73-70 (LSU was #18, UK was unranked)

1989 (Dale Brown vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 64-62 (both were unranked)

1987 (Dale Brown vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 76-41 (both were unranked)

1980 (Dale Brown vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 65-60 (LSU was #11, UK was #5)

1979 (Dale Brown vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 93-89 (UK was #9)

Mississippi: 1-27 in SEC regular season, 0-2 in SEC Tournament

1998 (Rob Evans vs. Tubby Smith) - won 73-64 (Miss was #18, UK was #7)

Mississippi State: 2-26 in SEC regular season

2009 (Rick Stansbury vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 66-57 (both were unranked)

1995 (Richard Williams vs. Rick Pitino) - won 76-71 (MSU was #23, UK was #4)

Missouri: 0-3 in SEC regular season
none

South Carolina: 2-22 in SEC regular season, 0-2 before joining SEC

2009 (Darrin Horn vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 78-77 (UK was #24)

1997 (Eddie Fogler vs. Rick Pitino) - won 72-66 (USC was #6, UK was #3)

Tennessee: 4-36 in SEC regular season, lost 101-40 in 1993 SEC Tournament

2006 (Bruce Pearl vs. Tubby Smith) - won 75-67 (UT was #11, UK was unranked)

1999 (Jerry Green vs. Tubby Smith) - won 47-46 (UK was #6)

1979 (Don DeVoe vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 66-55 (both were unranked)

1977 (Ray Mears vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 71-67 (OT) (UK was #2)

Texas A&M: 1-2 in SEC regular season, won at Rupp pre-SEC in 1978

2013 (Billy Kennedy vs. John Calipari) - won 83-71 (both were unranked)

Vanderbilt: 2-36 in SEC regular season

2007 (Kevin Stallings vs. Tubby Smith) - won 72-67 (UK was #25)

2006 (Kevin Stallings vs. Tubby Smith) - won 57-52 (both were unranked)


So, the teams with the most SEC regular season wins at Rupp:

1) Florida - 7

2) Alabama and LSU - 5

And the teams with the best winning percentage...

1) Texas A&M: 33% (1-2)

2) Arkansas: 21% (3-11)

3) Alabama: 18% (5-23)

And the most successful coaches?

1) Dale Brown.  4 wins (but 14 losses).

2) Billy Donovan.  4 wins (but 15 losses).

3) Norman Sloan.  3 wins (but 6 losses).

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  

Kentucky basketball vs. Vanderbilt in 20 different arenas

(updated through 2016-17 regular season) 

Here are Kentucky's results in the 20 different arenas where they've met the Commodores, against whom they hold a 143-47 advantage all-time.


Home (80-14 overall - 85.1%)
Rupp Arena: 37-2 (had a perfect 28-0 record against them at Rupp, but then lost in 2006 and 2007)
Memorial Coliseum: 20-5
Alumni Gym: 17-2
Buell Armory: 5-2
Woodland Auditorium: 1-3


Road (56-28 overall - 67%)
Memorial Gymnasium: 38-25
Hippodrome: 12-3 (games from 1922-1946)
McQuiddy Gymnasium: 3-0 (1950-52)
East High School Gym: 1-0 (1949)
Father Ryan High School Gym: 1-0 (1947)
Navy Classification Center: 1-0 (1948)


Neutral sites (7-5 overall, 4-5 in SEC Tournament)
Alumni Memorial Gym, Knoxville: 1-0 (SEC Tournament)
Paducah Tilghman Gym, Paducah: 1-0
UT Armory Fieldhouse, Knoxville: 1-0 (SEC playoff)
Superdome, New Orleans: 1-0 (SEC Tournament)
Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati: 1-0
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center: 1-1 (SEC Tournament)
Jefferson County Armory, Louisville: 1-1 (SEC Tournament)
Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville: 0-1 (SEC Tournament)
New Orleans Arena: 0-1 (SEC Tournament)
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville: 0-1 (SEC Tournament)

By type of game
SEC home games: 71-7
SEC road games: 53-27
SEC regular season record: 124-34

Pre-SEC home games (before 1932-33): 9-7
Pre-SEC road games (before 1932-33): 3-1
Pre-SEC regular season record: 12-8

SEC neutral site games: 2-0
SEC playoffs: 1-0

SEC tournament: 4-5

Kentucky basketball vs. Louisville all-time (14 different arenas)

UK is 34-16 all-time against the Cardinals.


In the modern home-and-home series (initiated after the "Dream Game" in 1983), Kentucky leads 22-12.


Regular season home games: UK is 17-5 (77.3%)

Rupp Arena: 13-4 (games played in 1983 through present) - 76.5%
Buell Armory Gymnasium: 3-0 (1913, 1914, 1922)
Woodland Auditorium: 1-1 


Did you know?  UK never played UofL in Alumni Gym or in Memorial Coliseum.  Crazy, right?  


Regular season road games: UK is 12-9 (57%)

Freedom Hall: 7-6 (1984 through 2009) - 53.8%
Yum! Center: 2-2 (2010 through 2016) - 50.0%
St. Xavier Gym: 1-0 (1922)
Louisville YMCA: 1-1 (1915, 1916)
Tharp Gymnasium: 1-0 (1914)


NCAA Tournament Games: UK is 4-2 (60%)

Wins:
2014 Midwest Regional Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium
2012 National Semifinal at the Superdome
1984 Mideast Regional Semifinal at Rupp Arena
1951 East Regional 1st Round at Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh)

Losses:
1983 Mideast Regional Final at Stokely Center (Knoxville)
1959 Mideast Regional Semifinal at McGaw Memorial Hall (Evanston)


Other: UK is 1-0
Old Madison Square Garden (NYC, 1948 Olympic Trials): 1-0


One final, happy note:
- UK has won three (or more) in a row against UofL EIGHT times, and UofL has never accomplished a three game winning streak against UK.

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