Kentucky-Indiana returns with nostalgia and pressure

Mark Pope has already brought a sense of nostalgia back to Kentucky Basketball, and we will take another trip down memory lane on Saturday night. Even though the new four-year series was signed before Pope was hired, it still feels like another step toward reconnecting with the past. This time, though, the renewal of the Kentucky-Indiana rivalry comes with higher stakes than a mid-December game should.

For many Kentucky fans, this was always the December game to watch for decades. Growing up near the Kentucky-Indiana border (shout out to Madisonville), it was this rivalry that mattered more than others. It was the non-conference Saturday game we watched every year, usually on whatever ancient TV your family had at the time. For me, that was my grandparents’ rear-projection TV, the kind that took up half the room. One year, I even got to be there in person, sitting on the aisle near the blue-and-red split in the crowd in Louisville.

For years, the game rotated between Freedom Hall and the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Then it moved to Lexington and Bloomington until its infamous demise in December 2011, known as The Wat Shot. Now, it returns to Rupp Arena, and the pressure is on. Kentucky enters this one 0-4 in games that actually count, coming off losses that have drained the early joy out of the season. This team desperately needs a win, not UK-IU nostalgia. Beating Indiana would not solve everything, but it would stop the bleeding and put a meaningful win on the resume.

The memories of Hall vs. Knight, Mike Davis’ meltdown, and John Wall’s dunk are fun distractions as the rivalry renews, but it’s a must-win scenario for Mark Pope in his second year. What did he say about it? I thought you’d never ask.

Pope sees Bob Knight in Indiana

Pope was asked about renewing the UK-IU series during his pregame press conference on Friday. After all, he played in two of the meetings in the 90s, and he welcomes the Hoosiers back to UK’s schedule in 2025-26.

“I love this game,” Pope said on Friday. “I love all these games, I mean, I love them all. And this is Indiana-Kentucky… I love the game. I have such great memories of playing in these games, and I like it for us, I like it for fans, and I like it for Indiana, and I think it’s a great game.”

Pope also likes the throwback style that present-day Indiana brings to Lexington.

“What they’re doing over there right now is actually awesome, because when you guys watch them play, you’re gonna feel very much like Bob Knight Indiana in the sense of like they’re playing with unbelievable movement and motion and with high IQ. Even that part of the style of play that they’re playing at right now is pretty inspiring, and it just harkens back to a great tenure in Indiana basketball. “

Pope won both of his games against the Hoosiers, with a seven-point, seven-rebound game in his first one. Hopefully, the winning continues in his first game against IU as Kentucky’s head coach.