Both Kentucky and Indiana are about a third of the way through the 2025-26 season as both teams have played ten games thus far. There has been some inconsistencies between both programs, but especially on the Wildcat side since they have been battling injuries and various lineup rotations since the beginning on the year.
Indiana will come into Rupp Arena tonight with an 8-2 overall record with their two losses coming against Minnesota and Louisville. When looking at their schedule, the Hoosiers also have several good wins on their resume, coming against teams such as Marquette, Bayor, and Kansas State.
Kentucky, sitting at 6-4 overall, has no good wins on their resume as they’ve lost every ranked game they’ve played, losing at Louisville, vs. Michigan State (New York), vs. North Carolina, and vs. Gonzaga (Nashville). Both teams are hungry to win this one, but Kentucky needs it much more.
The Kentucky/Indiana rivalry dates all the way back to 1924 where Indiana won with a score of 34-23, creating what would be come a historic rivalry for decades to come. However, this rivalry has been but on the back burner per se over the past decade. Kentucky hasn’t faced the Hoosiers since 2016 when Kentucky lost to them in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The last time this rivalry was played in a regular season matchup was in 2011 at Assembly Hall where No. 1 Kentucky lost 73-72 on a last second shot by Christian Watford, famously known as the “Wat Shot”.
A big reason for this rivalry to be essentially nonexistent for the past 10-15 years was due to former Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari and former Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean, as they couldn’t come to agreeance on locations for the annually played game, so the series ceased.
In fall of 2023, news surfaced that Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and Indiana Athletics Director Scott Dolson came to terms to resume the border series, confirming 4 dates of matchups taking place from 2025-2028.
Dec. 20, 2025: in Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
Dec. 27, 2026: in Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Dec. 18, 2027: in Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
Dec. 16, 2028: in Assembly Hall (Bloomington, Indiana)
Game 1 has finally made it to present day.
Tonight’s matchup will be very interesting for many reasons, but one that comes to mind first is Lamar Wilkerson. Wilkerson was heavily recruited by Pope this past offseason and he took an official visit to the school. Mark Pope seemed to have brought out all of the major stops, notably seeing the Sam Houston transfer in appearance at Keeneland, a niche and unique stop on the recruiting trail that UK has to offer. Many believed it was between Kentucky and Indiana for the portal commitment, with the blue holding the upper hand until the final minute when a shock went out to the CBB universe of Wilkerson choosing IU and head coach Darian DeVries over Lexington. It’s believed that the money was greater as they went more all-in than Kentucky did for one specific player. The Wildcats built a roster of a reported $22 million, spread out across a dozen plus deep of a roster.
Wilkerson is having a successful year at Indiana as he is averaging nearly 19 points per game, along with 2.6 assists and nearly 2 steals a game as well. He is averaging all of this while playing roughly thirty minutes a night and shooting an outstanding 46.8% from the field and 43.2% from behind the three-point line. Needless to say, one of the keys to tonight’s matchup for the Wildcats is to not leave this guy open from anywhere because he will make you pay for it if you do.
Some other players to be mindful of are Tucker DeVries, who is averaging nearly 18 points a game, as well as Tayton Conerway and Reed Bailey who are both averaging over 10 points a game, shooting 50% or better on the season.
The media had an opportunity to get Mark Pope’s thoughts about the upcoming game earlier this week and here is what he had to say.
If you can’t make it to watch the game tonight at Rupp Arena, you can watch the matchup in the comfort of your own home with tip off starting at 7:30 PM ET and the coverage being on ESPN. The last time I checked DraftKings, the spread was -4.5 in favor of the Wildcats, and I think that is a fairly accurate spread. If Kentucky can contain Wilkerson to below his averages then I think Kentucky will win 79-73.
UPDATE: As of 2:00 PM ET, around 5.5 hours before tip, the line has moved to -3.5 points, still in favor of Kentucky.
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