Will Wade, LSU have made series with Kentucky competitive again

On Wednesday night at Rupp Arena, Kentucky and LSU will meet on the hardwood for the 120th time in series history. The matchup between two of the better programs in SEC basketball has been very one-sided for a long time with Kentucky owning a 91-28 series lead.

However, that has not always been the case.

For 25 seasons, Dale Brown roamed the sidelines as the leader of the purple and gold. The North Dakota native and former Washington State assistant turned the Tigers into a legit power. During his tenure, Brown led LSU to four SEC titles and two Final Four appearances. LSU made the NCAA Tournament for 10 consecutive seasons from 1984-93 and was always competitive with Kentucky. However, Brown was still just 18-33 (.353) against the Wildcats.

Will Wade has been able to have some early success against Kentucky.

The Clemson alum and former VCU head coach is his fourth season as the head coach at LSU, and Wade has survived some turmoil. The administration seems committed to keeping the 39-year-old around and that is easy to understand because he wins basketball games.

LSU is well on its way to receiving another at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and this would make four in a row under Wade if not for the COVID-19 cancellation in 2020. That is the longest streak for the Tigers since Brown took LSU to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. Meanwhile, Wade has also had some success against Kentucky.

After losing a close contest in his first year, LSU surprised everyone in 2019 as the Tigers claimed an SEC title for the first time in a decade and achieved that thanks to a huge road win over No. 5 Kentucky. LSU would then follow that up with consecutive losses dropping a close one at home in 2021 and surprisingly taking a beatdown at Rupp Arena in 2022. However, Wade’s group bounced back again.

LSU benefitted from injuries to both Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington, but the Tigers still put the clamps on Kentucky’s offense and left the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with a 65-62 victory. Quietly, LSU basketball is becoming one of the SEC’s better programs again.

Will Wade seems to have awoken what some might consider a sleeping giant, and LSU has been able to go toe-to-toe with Kentucky in recent seasons. That is great news for SEC basketball as the Tigers could continue to be a force to deal with in the future.