Kentucky and Indiana have agreed in principle to resume its annual basketball series beginning in 2025-26, UK head coach John Calipari announced at SEC Media Day in Birmingham Wednesday.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein wrote:
“Indiana and Kentucky are in advanced discussions to play a multi-year series with games both on campus and at neutral sites, multiple sources told College Hoops Today.”
Kentucky recently announced a six-game series with Gonzaga in addition to annual matchups in the Champions Classic, CBS Sports Classic, Big 12-SEC Challenge, and its annual rivalry game with Louisville.
Second-year Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson was very optimistic, he said:
“Again, that can possibly happen in the future. I just think (John Calipari) and I and the athletic directors and the administrations, all of us who put this together, we have to come to common ground and see what happens.”
“I know our fans would love to see it. I think Kentucky fans would love to see it as well. We’ll see, time will tell.”
Despite meeting twice in the NCAA Tournament since 2012, Kentucky and Indiana haven’t played in the regular season since 2011, when their annual series was abruptly ended after 42 years.
Kentucky leads the all-time series 32-25. The Wildcats beat the Hoosiers in the NCAA South Regional semifinals en route to the national championship in 2012, evening its loss in Bloomington earlier that season.
Indiana returned the favor with a second-round NCAA Tournament win over Kentucky in 2016.
