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Kentucky-Purdue History: UKIT titles, Great Eights, and Memorial Coliseum's grand opening

Drew Franklinby: Drew Franklin28 minutes agoDrewFranklinKSR
gene-keady-1997
Purdue head coach Gene Keady on the sidelines during the 1997 season. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

Before Kentucky opens its preseason against No. 1 Purdue on Friday night, let’s catch up on the series history with Purdue. Hard to believe, but the two programs haven’t met in nearly 30 years. The last meeting was in the Great Eight in December 1997, early in Tubby Smith’s first season in Lexington. There were seven other meetings prior to that one, dating back to the first-ever Kentucky-Purdue game in 1949.

As we count down to the Boilermakers’ trip to Rupp Arena, let’s take a look back at the first eight games in the series.


December 3, 1997: #7 Kentucky 89, #6 Purdue 75 (Great Eight)

Kentucky and Purdue last met in 1997 at the Great Eight in Chicago, a top-10 showdown between No. 7 Kentucky and No. 5 Purdue. The Wildcats pulled away in the second half for an 89-75 win behind Nazr Mohammed’s 19 points, Wayne Turner’s 14 and eight assists, and double-figure scoring from Jeff Sheppard and Scott Padgett.

Purdue’s Chad Austin led all scorers with 24, but Kentucky’s hot shooting (50% from three) and balanced attack proved too much. Coach Gene Keady was one win shy of becoming Purdue’s all-time wins leader, something he’d have to delay until later that week after beating Louisville.

As Dr. J’s UK Newsletter put it at the time, Kentucky “didn’t panic,” erased an early deficit, and cruised late while Dick Vitale mispronounced “Bill Keightley” as “Knightly” on the ESPN broadcast. [Box Score]


December 3, 1996: #6 Kentucky 101, Purdue 87 (Great Eight)

Precisely one year before the 1997 game, Kentucky and Purdue again met in the Great Eight in Chicago. However, Rick Pitino was the Wildcats’ head coach, fresh off their 1996 national championship run. Pitino had the defending champs ranked seventh after suffering an overtime loss to Clemson in the second game of the season, while Purdue was unranked after losing at home to Bowling Green before the short trip to Chicago.

Sophomore Ron Mercer, who would leave with Pitino for the NBA at the end of the season, was a star for the Wildcats against the Boilermakers. He scored 30 points on 13-for-16 shooting from the field, with seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Jared Prickett added 17 with eight rebounds, joined by Derek Anderson and Antony Epps in double figures.

Purdue was led by Mike Robinson, Chad Austin, and Brian Cardinal in the loss, allowing over 100 points to Pitino’s final Kentucky team. [Box Score]


December 1, 1984: Purdue 66, Kentucky 56

Back in the mid-80s, Kenny Walker and James Blackmon scored 32 of Kentucky’s 56 points in a December 1984 loss in West Lafayette. Purdue shot worse from the field, but leaned on free throws and turnovers in the home win. The Boilermakers made 31 of 40 foul shots and forced the Wildcats into 22 turnovers.

The loss was the first of four straight early in Joe B. Hall’s last season as head coach. [Box Score]


December 28, 1983: #2 Kentucky 86, #18 Purdue 67

No. 2 Kentucky played No. 18 Purdue in Freedom Hall in Louisville in the nonconference part of the 1983-84 season. The Wildcats won big in front of nearly 17,000 fans, beating the Boilermakers by 19 points in a rival’s home arena.

Melvin Turpin was a beast in the victory, leading Kentucky with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kenny Walker also had a big double-double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Purdue’s Jim Rowinski and Ricky Hall scored 18 and 17 in the loss to the unbeaten Wildcats. [Box Score]


Dec 21, 1979; Lexington KY, USA, FILE PHOTO; Purdue Boilermakers center Joe Barry Carroll (22) in action against the SMU Mustangs during the 1979 University of Kentucky Invitational Tournament (UKIT) at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

December 22, 1979: #3 Kentucky 89, #9 Purdue 75

Joe Barry Carroll’s game-high 25 points weren’t enough to lead Purdue past Kentucky in a battle of top-10 teams, playing in the UKIT Championship in Lexington. The Boilermakers actually led at the half on UK’s floor, but Kyle Macy, who transferred from Purdue after his freshman year, and Fred Cowan helped complete the comeback with 18 points apiece.

After the game, Macy mentioned all of the hate mail he had received from Purdue fans since leaving West Lafayette for Lexington. Still, he downplayed the win over his old school, which had a new coaching staff. The Indiana native hit three critical free throws late in the close game, including finishing an and-one that gave Kentucky the lead with 2:17 left. [Box Score]


December 19, 1970: Purdue 89, #3 Kentucky 83

Kentucky may have won the 1979 UKIT Championship, but Purdue won the 1970 UKIT title. The Boilermakers led by as many as nine in the second half before turning to stall ball to close out the game over Adolph Rupp’s unbeaten Wildcats. The upset spoiled a sixth straight UKIT victory for Kentucky, despite 27 points from Mike Casey in the loss. Purdue had its own 27-point scorer in UKIT MVP Larry Weatherford, plus another 21 from Robert Ford in the win. Rupp said Purdue “was just more aggressive.” [Box Score]

The loss snapped a 26-game losing streak in Memorial Coliseum.


December 9, 1950: Kentucky 70, Purdue 52

Kentucky and Purdue played the Memorial Coliseum Dedication Game in 1950, marking the first-ever game in the new four-million-dollar venue on UK’s campus. It was a can’t-lose scenario for the Wildcats and the home crowd, and Kentucky got the job done in front of 11,500, winning 70-52 to open the new basketball digs.

(Photo via UK Special Collections Library Research Center: “Kentucky vs. Purdue, Sports Dedication”, December 9, 1950)

Big Bill Spivey led Kentucky with 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half. He must’ve been inspired by Dr. Leo Chamberlain’s dedication speech before the game. [Box Score]

Kentucky went on to win the national championship that season.


December 23, 1949: Kentucky 60, Purdue 54

Finally, the first time Kentucky and Purdue met on the hardwood. They played at Purdue as part of a five-game road swing for the defending champ Wildcats. Reportedly, Adolph Rupp said at an event in Lafayette prior to the game that he thought his team was “terrible” and needed until February to “be a respectable basketball team.” Still, Kentucky won convincingly despite the final score, leading by 17 at halftime after making eight of the first 12 shots from the field. Walter Hirsch led the way with 14 points in the game as 58 of Kentucky’s 60 points were scored by Rupp’s five starters. [Box Score]

The 1949 win set the tone for the series, which Kentucky leads 6-2 heading into Friday night’s preseason exhibition game. This year’s game won’t actually matter, but don’t tell that to the fans who see those preseason No. 1 and No. 9 rankings.

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2025-10-21