In 2023-24, John Calipari is resurrecting a Kentucky basketball tradition
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It may not have been intentional, but when Kentucky men’s basketball announced its 2023-24 non-league schedule Thursday, John Calipari restored a piece of Wildcats’ hoops tradition.
In the coming basketball campaign, Kentucky will face national power Gonzaga at Rupp Arena on Saturday, Feb. 10. The matchup between Cal’s Cats and Mark Few’s Zags will be the biggest February, non-league game a Kentucky men’s hoops team has played in Lexington in more than two-and-a-half decades.
Not since Rick Pitino’s No. 3 Wildcats pulverized No. 18 Villanova 93-56 in Rupp on Feb. 9, 1997, has there been a non-conference tilt of similar magnitude to UK-Gonzaga played in Lexington so late in a season.
In prior decades, such big-time, inter-sectional matchups late in a season were a staple of Kentucky basketball schedules. From 1978 through 1998, UK played 14 games after Feb. 1 of seasons against what I would classify as “big name,” non-league opponents.
However, the Wildcats have not played such a game after Feb. 1 in a season since Tubby Smith’s eventual NCAA title team won at Villanova 79-63 on Feb. 8, 1998.
Though not in February, two of the most memorable games ever played at Rupp Arena were on “Super Bowl Sunday” featuring Kentucky going up against non-conference foes who featured mega-star big men.
On Jan. 22, 1984, Joe B. Hall’s No. 3 Wildcats bested Guy Lewis and No. 4 Houston 74-67. Then known as Akeem Olajuwon, the star Cougars center had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots vs. the Cats.
Olajuwon’s efforts were trumped, however, by Kentucky’s trio of front-court stars as Kenny Walker went for 20 points and 10 rebounds, Melvin Turpin 19 points and 11 boards and Sam Bowie eight points and 18 rebounds.
Three years and three days later, unranked Kentucky overcame No. 18 Navy and star center David Robinson behind the backcourt play of Rex Chapman (22 points), Ed Davender (13) and James Blackmon (13) in an 80-69 upset of the Midshipmen in Lexington.
As part of a triple-double that most consider the greatest individual performance by a college player in Rupp Arena history, Robinson scored 45 points on 17-of-22 field-goal shooting and 11-of-12 free throw accuracy. The 7-foot-1, 235-pound center also had 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Among UK’s 14 post-Feb. 1, marquee non-league showdowns between 1978 and 1998, two stand out.
In 1977-78, Kentucky’s Senior Day fell on March 4 with Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels as the foes. Before a rocking Rupp Arena crowd, the Wildcats’ senior class of Rick Robey (26 points), Jack Givens (24), James Lee (13) and Mike Phillips (seven) combined to score 70 points and make 29 of 39 shots in a 92-70 UK strafing of UNLV.
On Feb. 6, 1994, Rick Pitino and No. 7 Kentucky got a double-double, 17 points and 15 rebounds, from Jared Prickett and edged John Calipari and No. 11 Massachusetts 67-64 in a neutral-floor contest held in East Rutherford, N.J. Six days later, the 1993-94 Cats played another non-conference game of similar magnitude, as No. 4 UK fell on the road to No. 14 Syracuse 93-85.
The chances to schedule marquee, non-league contests late in seasons were greater in the 1990s after the SEC went from 18 league games required a season to 16 in 1991-92. It was not until 2012-13 that the league went back to the 18-game conference slate.
In the second half of the Calipari era, the now-defunct SEC/Big 12 Challenge in January has supplied the main, non-league attraction after the New Year on UK schedules. The new ACC/SEC Challenge, which will see UK face Miami in 2023-24, is being played this season in November.
The benefits of breaking from the routine of conference play to face a “name” foe from another league late in a season are myriad.
It’s a way to generate some national attention for college basketball prior to the arrival of March Madness. For players and fans, it can be a fun break from the routine of league play.
In the specific cases of Kentucky and Gonzaga in the coming season, both programs would seem to have valid reasons for preferring a late-season matchup.
With eight freshmen on UK’s 2023-24 roster, Kentucky’s hopes of avenging an 88-72 spanking from Gonzaga last season in Spokane, Wash., would seem enhanced by playing on Feb. 10 rather than in November or December.
Meanwhile, playing in a West Coast Conference that Gonzaga typically dominates, Few and the Bulldogs could get a postseason boost from playing a tough, non-league road game only weeks prior to tournament time.
Regardless of the motives, it will be an entertaining “back to the future” moment to again see Kentucky playing a huge non-league hoops game in February.
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