A Rivalry Reborn: Kentucky and Indiana set to light up Rupp Arena again

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – If you’re Kentucky, it would be nice to engage in all of the nostalgia of one of one of the great college basketball rivalries being renewed. But frankly, you just need to win a game.

The Wildcats (6-4) have feasted on the cupcakes on their schedule, but are 0-4 against ranked opponents. On Saturday at 7:30 p.m., they’ll face something close to that when Indiana (8-2) visits Rupp Arena.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

Both teams were in the Top 25 until the most recent poll. Kentucky was bounced by a 40-point loss to Gonzaga. Indiana suffered back-to-back losses to Minnesota and No. 11 Louisville.

Under first-year coach Darian DeVries, the rebuilt Hoosiers have put together an impressive start, with wins over Marquette, Kansas State and most recently Penn State, a 113-72 explosion that saw transfer guard Lamar Wilkerson explode for 10 three-pointers and 44 points.

Kentucky bounced back from its Gonzaga loss with a 103-67 win over North Carolina Central, but still has not beaten a team with a KenPom ranking of better than 198 this season, with five of its six wins coming over teams ranked below No. 250.

It’s a resume game for both. And a marquee event for ESPN, which is giving it a unique soundtrack – the combination of famed sideline voices Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley along with play-by-play man Dave O’Brien for the national broadcast.

Kentucky coach Mark Pope said Indiana’s win over Penn State got everyone’s attention.

“They scored 113 points, and in a game that actually didn't have incredible a tempo to it,” he said. “They're doing an unbelievable job with how they're playing offense right now. They're really explosive. They have really talented guys, and they're really leaning into the skills that they have. Lamar, you know, had been shooting poorly, actually, for four or five games. I think he was down in the low twenties, percentage wise in his previous five games before that, and he had an eruption that was pretty significant. He played a great game.”

DeVries said his team spent a good bit of time working on its screening and cutting after struggling against more physical defenses from Minnesota and Louisville. He said a major emphasis in practice has been getting Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries free for good looks despite whatever defensive attention they’re getting.

And from Kentucky, he expects that to be a lot. He said in looking at Kentucky, he sees an offense with good shooters, that hasn’t shot particularly well. But that can change.

“I think the biggest thing for them, when you look at the games they've played well, they’ve scored easily. The games they've struggled, they just haven't shot it very well,” he said. “But they have a good shooting team. When you look at their stats from last year, percentages, some of the guys just haven't shot it as well. I'm sure as the season goes on, those numbers will start to come back to the norm. They’ve just had some games here where that hasn't been the case. It’s an incredibly talented, gifted offensive team, and they can hurt you in a lot of ways, and that three-point shooting, if you start to add that to it, they become really scary.”

For Kentucky (6-4), Otega Oweh needs to be a steadying force. The senior guard has scored in double figures in all 10 games this season and leads the Wildcats at 14.4 points per game. He had 21 in UK’s win over North Carolina Central on Tuesday. Freshman Jasper Johnson added a career-high 22 in that game, becoming the eighth different UK player to lead or co-lead the team in scoring.

“We haven't started out the way we want to, but I'm telling you guys we’ve got a lot in hopper,” Pope said. “We just have to, figure out how to get it out on the playing court.”

Both teams have dealt with injuries this season. Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate has missed five straight games but returned in a limited practice capacity this week. Jayden Quaintance, a future pro in the post, also took partial practice reps for the first time—raising hopes he could be available in the coming weeks.

For Indiana, forward Josh Harris and guard Jason Drake remain sidelined indefinitely with what are being termed lower body injuries.

DeVries said he’s glad to see the series resume in campus locations. It hasn’t been played in a campus setting since Indiana beat Kentucky on Christian Watford’s famous three-pointer at the buzzer that beat the Wildcats in 2011, prompting a court storming that was John Calipari’s rationale for saying he wouldn’t play on campus.

“I think it's a great series. I hope we can continue this forever,” DeVries said. “This is the first year of a four game stretch, so I think it's great for both programs. I think it's great for college basketball. I think it's something that both our programs are excited about, and I know both our fan bases are excited. These are great non-conference games that we want to be a part of and want to play.”

For Pope, who played in the rivalry, the feeling is mutual.

“I love this game. I love all these games,” he said. “What they're doing over there right now is actually awesome, because when you guys watch them play, you're going to feel very much like Bob Knight Indiana, in the sense of like they're playing with unbelievable movement and motion and with the high IQ. So, even that part of the style they're playing right now is pretty inspiring. And it just harkens back to a great tenure in Indiana basketball. I have incredibly great memories of playing in these games. And I like it. I like it for us. I like it for fans. I like it for Indiana. I think it's a great game.”