Mid-1990s Kentucky vs. Arkansas was Peak SEC Basketball

The Southeastern Conference has been around for something like 481 years and in that time, the University of Kentucky has been the standard bearer for excellence in men’s basketball. The conference has changed teams multiple times since the 1950s. Arkansas and South Carolina joined in 1992. Texas A&M and Missouri joined in 2012. Oklahoma and Texas coming next year. With only minor stretches of poor play, Kentucky has been the greatest program in the league. But throughout that time, various programs have come and gone as top competitors to the Cats.

• Georgia Tech of the 1950s
• LSU of the 1980s
• Florida of the 2000s
• Auburn and Alabama of the 2020s

But, to me, there was no greater rivalry than Kentucky and Arkansas in the 1990s. The quality of teams plus the quality of the actual games was unrivaled in league history. Arkansas didn’t join the league until the 1991-92 season and that was perfect timing. Kentucky was coming off probation and poised to become a national power again. Arkansas was just peaking as a top team in the country with Nolan Richardson at the helm. And for three seasons, these teams played a total of seven times, with neither being ranked worse than 14th in any of those games. And five of the seven games were between top-10 teams.

A little recap:

1992: Arkansas 105, Kentucky 88 (Lexington)

In Jamal Mashburn’s sophomore and junior seasons, he did not have a worse scoring performance than this one. Just 4 points for Mash doomed the Cats. This was Kentucky’s second-largest home loss under Pitino and they wouldn’t lose again at Rupp for two years (to Arkansas again). If there was any doubt that the Hogs would be an SEC threat, this would put it to rest.

1993: Arkansas 101, Kentucky 94 (Fayetteville)

Welcome to the Corliss Williamson era of Arkansas basketball. He whipped the Cats to the tune of 22 points and 8 rebounds. Scotty Thurman chipped in another 16 and I think it became very clear that Arkansas would be a thorn in UK’s side for many years. The Hogs pressure, which was normally a UK staple, forced 21 turnovers. Kentucky would get the final laugh, both in the SEC Tournament and the final result in the NCAA Tournament.

1993: Kentucky 92, Arkansas 81 (SEC Tournament, Lexington)

Kentucky was still getting a home crowd for the semifinals of the SEC Tournament and took advantage. Despite turning the ball over a whopping 28 times, UK shot 50% from the 3-point line and held Arkansas to just 4 threes while outrebounding them by 11. Travis Ford poured in 26 points on his way to tournament MVP. That Arkansas team would get bounced in the Sweet 16, while UK would make the Final Four.

1994: Arkansas 90, Kentucky 82 (Lexington)

From the 17-point drubbing in 1992 to this game in 1994, Kentucky won 33 consecutive games at Rupp. In fact, sandwiched around those two losses were 53 wins. A 53-2 home record from 1991-1995, with the only 2 losses being to Arkansas. Nonetheless, that Hogs team would go on to win the national title and this was probably Pitino’s worst team from 1992-1997. Kentucky led this game by six at halftime but couldn’t withstand the Hogs. Williamson scored 21 and Thurman 26. Tony Delk went 2-13 from three. After reading the game story, another fun fact. Rick Pitino wore COWBOY BOOTS in the first half of this game, a gift from Richardson.

1994: Kentucky 90, Arkansas 78 (SEC Tournament, Memphis)

Remember when we dominated this tournament? Kentucky took down the nation’s top-ranked team, and eventual national champion, in the semifinals once again. Andre Riddick blocked 7 shots and UK used a zone (whatever that is) to pull away late for the win. Arkansas would get the last laugh, winning the national title just three weeks later. But the trend of Kentucky losing in the regular season and winning in the SEC Tournament continued (and would go on for one more year).

1995: Arkansas 94, Kentucky 92 (Fayetteville)

Despite the high quality of both teams in 1992, 1993, and 1994, the two programs really hadn’t played a game decided in the last minute in any of those years. That changed in this clash at Arkansas in 1995. The two teams battled for 40 minutes with the lead changing hands twice under 1 minute, but Jeff Sheppard’s last-second shot was blocked and Arkansas walked away with their fourth straight regular-season win against Kentucky. Once again, Williamson and Thurman dominated the Cats, scoring a combined 50 points.

1995: Kentucky 95, Arkansas 93 OT (SEC Tournament, Atlanta)

I think you will be hard-pressed to find a better SEC game than this one. And this rivalry truly peaked in Atlanta on that afternoon. It was the first time these two teams battled in an SEC Tournament final. It would look like this would be an Arkansas romp for much of the game, as the Hogs led by as much as 19 points, but a furious UK rally tied up the game late. Then the infamous Rod Rhodes free throws occurred with 1.3 seconds left. Rhodes missed both, ended up in tears on the bench, and his UK career was basically over. Kentucky then fell behind by 9 points in overtime before another comeback. This really was a tipping point in the rivalry too as Williamson and Thurman were gone after the season and Arkansas hasn’t been back to that level since.

There really wasn’t anything like this four-year stretch of basketball by those two programs. These were national title-contending teams year after year. They were playing a wild style of basketball that led to highly entertaining games. They weren’t affected by home courts. And it involved the two most passionate fanbases in the league. I do think the foursome of Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, and Alabama could be on the verge of a long-term boom for SEC basketball but there still won’t be anything like those games above.

Anyway, we play Arkansas tomorrow and they stink. I wish they could get back to this.