Kentucky basketball vs. Alabama all-time (25 different coaches, 17 different arenas)

(Updated after their 2017 SEC tournament meeting)

Kentucky and Alabama have a long history in basketball.  147 total games (fewer than only three UK series - Tennessee, Vandy and Georgia).  

Alabama has managed a (relatively) decent home mark against the Cats, with 23 wins and 31 losses.  The Crimson Tide's home winning percentage against UK is third in SEC history behind Arkansas and Tennessee.  

And while their 5-23 mark at Rupp doesn't scream "success," those 5 wins are actually tied for second-most by any opponent in that arena (Florida has 7, LSU also has 5).

Many of the games have had high stakes, as the two teams have met 17 times in the SEC Tournament (fewer than only the 18 against LSU) and once in the NCAA Tournament.  UK holds a significant edge in those postseason matchups, at 16-2 overall (15-2 in the SEC Tournament, 1-0 NCAA).

Alabama has an excellent history in SEC basketball as a whole, with 14 combined titles:

- 8 regular season crowns (tied for third with Tennessee, behind UK's 47 and LSU's 11)

- 6 tournament titles (second behind UK's 28)

Only Tennessee (12 combined titles), LSU (12 combined titles), and Florida (11 combined titles) have come close to matching them in the fight against UK's dominance.

Alabama's most famous past coach is Wimp Sanderson.  He certainly had some success, especially against Hall, but the best winning percentage by any 'Bama coach against UK (minimum of 10 games)?  Believe it or not, that belongs to Mark Gottfried.  He was 5-8 against UK, including 5-6 against Tubby, with 2 wins in Rupp.

Let's take a look at the all-time series results...

Kentucky is 110-37 against Alabama (74.8%)

Kentucky is 55-9 at home against Alabama (85.9%)

Rupp Arena: 23-5 (82.1%)

Memorial Coliseum: 17-1 (94.4%)

Alumni Gymnasium: 15-2 (88.2%)

Buell Armory Gym: 0-1 (0%)

Kentucky is 31-23 in Tuscaloosa (57.4%)

Coleman Coliseum (since 1969): 20-17 (54.1%) - UK has never won, nor lost, more than 3 in a row there.

Foster Auditorium (1941-1968): 10-5 (66.7%)

Little Hall (1925, 1936): 1-1 (50%)

Kentucky is 24-5 at neutral sites against Alabama (82.8%)

Birmingham Athletic Club: 5-0 (regular season games from 1933 through 1938)

Jefferson County Armory (Louisville): 4-0 (won four SEC Tournament games in 1940s, including 1942 title)

Georgia Dome (Atlanta): 3-0 (all SEC Tournament games - in 1998, 2007 and 2011)

Bridgestone Arena / Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville): 4-0 (all SEC Tournament games - in 2006, 2010, 2016 and 2017)

Garrett Coliseum (Montgomery): 2-1 (won in 1958 and 1960, lost in 1956)

Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center: 2-1 (all SEC Tournament games...won in 1979, lost in 1983, won 1992 title)

The Omni (Atlanta): 1-0 (1986 NCAA Tournament)

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

Freedom Hall (Louisville): 1-0 (1998 regular season)

Rupp Arena: 1-1 (lost 1982 SEC Tournament Championship, won 1986 SEC Tournament Championship)

Birmingham City Auditorium: 0-2 (1939 and 1940 regular season games)

By type of game:
SEC regular season home games: 53-7
SEC regular season road games: 31-22
SEC regular season neutral games: 8-3

Total SEC regular season record: 92-32

Pre-SEC regular season home games: 2-2
Pre-SEC regular season road games: 0-1

Overall regular season record: 94-35

SEC Tournament games: 15-2
NCAA Tournament games: 1-0

Postseason record: 16-2

By UK coach:

John Calipari: 12-2 (5-0 home, 3-2 road, 4-0 SECT)

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

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

Rick Pitino: 9-2 (5-0 home, 3-2 road, 1-0 SECT)

Eddie Sutton: 7-3 (2-2 home, 3-1 road, 1-0 SECT, 1-0 NCAAT)

Joe B. Hall: 18-12 (11-2 home, 5-8 road, 2-2 SECT)

Adolph Rupp: 53-10 (28-1 home, 14-6 road, 5-2 in Birmingham, 2-1 in Montgomery, 4-0 in SECT)

John Mauer: 0-1 (home in 1929)

Ray Eklund: 1-0 (home in 1926)

Clarence Applegran: 0-1 (road in 1925)

George Buchheit: 0-1 (home in 1923)

By opposing coach:

Avery Johnson (since 2016): 0-5 against Kentucky (all against Calipari)

Anthony Grant (2010-15): 2-7 against Kentucky (all against Calipari)

Mark Gottfried (1999-2009): 5-8 against Kentucky (0-2 vs. Billy G, 5-6 vs. Tubby)

David Hobbs (1993-98): 0-7 against Kentucky (all against Pitino)

Wimp Sanderson (1981-92): 11-18 against Kentucky (2-4 vs. Pitino, 3-7 vs. Sutton, 6-7 vs. Hall)

CM Newton (1969-80): 7-18 against Kentucky (6-11 vs. Hall, 1-7 vs. Rupp)

Hayden Riley (1961-68): 3-9 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Eugene Lambert (1945, 1948, 1957-60): 0-6 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Johnny Dee (1954-56): 1-2 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Floyd Burdette (1947-52): 0-10 against Kentucky (all against Rupp)

Hank Crisp (1925-42, 1946): 6-20 against Kentucky (4-19 vs. Rupp, 1-0 vs. Mauer, 0-1 vs. Eklund, 1-0 vs. Applegran)

Malcom Laney (1945): 0-1 against Kentucky (Rupp)

Paul Burnum (1943): 1-1 against Kentucky (Rupp)

Charlie Bernier (1923): 1-0 against Kentucky (Buchheit)

The Best (and Worst) opposing SEC coaches in UK Basketball History

As Kentucky fans know, the Southeastern Conference has never been as easy as it seems from the outside.  People may laugh at John Calipari's "everybody's Super Bowl" comments, but it's true.  Does a team like Auburn sell out games unless they're playing UK...or Alabama?  What about Georgia...it's just UK and Georgia Tech, right?  They put EVERYTHING into playing UK.  And it isn't just the fans and players.  Coaches define their legacies by their results in the Kentucky games.

Which SEC coaches have had the most (and least) success against our Cats?  Glad you asked...

MOST SUCCESSFUL:

1) RAY MEARS (TENNESSEE)

Record against UK: 15-15 (.500)

Years: 1962-1977

Faced: Adolph Rupp (8-12 vs. Rupp), Joe B. Hall (7-3 vs. Hall)

Memorable: He infuriated Rupp with everything from his hideous orange clothing to his deliberate style of play to his success, even winning four in a row against UK in the late '60s.  

2) BILLY DONOVAN (FLORIDA)

Record against UK: 17-27 (.386) at Florida, plus 0-2 at Marshall

Years: 1997-2015 at Florida

Faced: Rick Pitino (0-2 vs. Pitino), Tubby Smith (10-12 vs. Smith), Billy Gillispie (2-2 vs. Gillispie), John Calipari (5-11 vs. Calipari)

Memorable: Had a 7-game winning streak against the Wildcats from 2005 through 2008, the same timeframe during which his Gators won two national titles.  Also beat UK three times in a single season (2014), the same year Florida became the first team to go 21-0 in the SEC.  UK matched that feat in 2015.

3) DON DeVOE (TENNESSEE / FLORIDA)

Record against UK: 11-14 (.440) including 11-12 at UT, 0-2 at Florida

Years: 1979-1990

Faced: Joe B. Hall (9-6 vs. Hall), Eddie Sutton (2-6 vs. Sutton), Rick Pitino (0-2 vs. Pitino)

Memorable: Beat UK for the 1979 SEC Tournament title in Birmingham.

4) ROY SKINNER (VANDERBILT)

Record against UK: 14-18 (.438)

Years: 1959-1976

Faced: Adolph Rupp (9-15 vs. Rupp), Joe B. Hall (5-3 vs. Hall)

Memorable: One of the main reasons we now speak of "Memorial magic," as the Commodores had a "mysterious" way of pulling out victories during his era in Nashville.

5) NOLAN RICHARDSON (ARKANSAS)

Record against UK: 7-12 (.368)...but he was 6-5 during the regular season

Years: 1992-2002

Faced: Rick Pitino (4-6 vs. Pitino), Tubby Smith (3-6 vs. Smith)

Memorable: Won his first four regular season games against UK...but also lost his first six SEC tournament games against us.


HONORABLE MENTION: 
Wimp Sanderson (11-18 against UK at Alabama)
Dale Brown (18-33 against UK at LSU)
Tommy Bartlett (6-8 against UK at Florida)
Mark Gottfried (5-8 against UK at Alabama)
Kevin Stallings (12-23 against UK at Vanderbilt)
Mike Anderson (3-4 against UK at Arkansas)


And the LEAST SUCCESSFUL?

1) RED LAWSON (GEORGIA)

Record against UK: 0-15 (.000)

Years: 1952-1965

Faced: Adolph Rupp

Memorable: Six of his first seven games against UK were lost by 30+ points, including a 143-66 annihilation in 1956.

2) EMMETT LOWERY (TENNESSEE)

Record against UK: 1-25 (.038)

Years: 1948-1959

Faced: Adolph Rupp

Memorable: Lowery had the unfortunate task of facing UK during Rupp's most successful years, and was thrashed repeatedly.  His teams lost four SEC tournament games to Rupp in Louisville, with margins ranging from 15 to 39 points.

3) JAN VAN BREDA KOLFF (VANDERBILT)

Record against UK: 0-12 (.000)

Years: 1994-1999

Faced: Rick Pitino (0-8 vs. Pitino), Tubby Smith (0-4 vs. Smith)

Memorable: Gave up a combined 221 points in two blowout losses against the 1996 national champion Wildcats.

4) OLE MISS COACHES...

Bonnie Graham: 0-14 from 1950-1962

Lee Hunt: 0-9 from 1983-1986

Bob Weltlich: 1-14 from 1977-1982

Rod Barnes: 1-10 from 1999-2006

Andy Kennedy: 2-12 from 2006-present

5) AUBURN COACHES...

Jeff Lebo: 0-6 from 2005-2010

Tony Barbee: 0-5 from 2011-2014

Cliff Ellis: 1-13 from 1995-2004

Joel Eaves: 2-11 from 1951-1963


DISHONORABLE MENTION:
Floyd Burdette (0-10 against UK at Alabama)
Harry Rabenhorst (0-14 against UK at LSU)
Press Maravich (1-11 against UK at LSU)
Bob Polk (3-23 against UK at Vanderbilt)
Lon Kruger (2-13 against UK at Florida)