Indiana reveals sites, dates for upcoming hoops series with rival Kentucky
Indiana and Kentucky basketball haven’t met since 2016, but that’s set to change very soon.
The Hoosiers announced Tuesday that they have officially revived the rivalry matchup between the 2 historical hoops powerhouses and revealed the times and venues. UK and IU will play a 4-game series starting during the 2025-26 season.
Each squad will get 2 home games from the series, with 2 being played at Rupp Arena in Lexington, 1 being played at Assembly Hall and once more at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Here’s the dates for each matchup:
Dec. 20, 2025 – Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, Lexington, Ky.
Dec. 27, 2026 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind. (IU home game)
Dec. 18, 2027 – Rupp Arena Central Bank Center, Lexington, Ky.
Dec. 16, 2028 – Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
You can find the video the Hoosiers released Tuesday announcing the return of the rivalry:
It’s 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠. pic.twitter.com/ayD9z36kNU
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) October 3, 2023
There have been plenty of incredible moment in this series, including 2011’s shot by Christian Watford to down the No. 1 Wildcats at Assembly Hall:
The Hoosiers have won 2 of the past 3 despite Kentucky’s dominance across the sport in the 2010s. Indiana won the pair’s last contest from 2016, 73-67. However, Kentucky leads the all-time series 32-27.
Both coaches spoke about the matchup prior to Tuesday’s release. Here’s what each had to say about the rivalry renewed:
“This is a really important rivalry to our fans and the game of college basketball and we’re happy to bring it back,” John Calipari said. “Mike and I have been friends for years and I have the utmost respect for him as a coach and as a man. Let’s do this!”
And here’s Woodson’s quote: “This is a great day for our program and our fans. Indiana-Kentucky is one of the best rivalries in college basketball, with so many great games over the years. We worked hard to get this done, and I could not be happier to be playing Kentucky once again.”