UK, Notre Dame agree to three-year basketball series
Kentucky and Notre Dame have met for college basketball games plenty of times in the past and some memorable moments have resulted from those contests.
Now the Wildcats and Fighting Irish have agreed to resume those meetings, at least for three years.
The first meeting between the teams will take place on December 12, 2020, later this year.
The teams will play at a neutral site the following year and during the 2021-22 season the final game of the new three-year arrangement will take place in South Bend.
In Kentucky's announcement of the series John Calipari is quoted, "If our previous games are any indication, this is going to be a great series. I can remember playing Notre Dame in 2010 in Freedom Hall and Ben Hansbrough going crazy in the first half and Terrence Jones willing us to victory in the second half. We went to South Bend a couple years later and that place was nuts. The football team was there and they thumped us. And then the game in 2015 in the Elite Eight was one of the best all-around games I've been a part of. Elite play from both teams.
"I've got a feeling these three games are going to provide some similar battles. Mike Brey is a terrific coach who always builds teams that are going to fight and give you everything they've got. I really like how our non-conference schedule is coming together for the next few seasons."
Kentucky and Notre Dame have played 62 times, with the Wildcats holding a 43-19 series lead. Kentucky is 2-1 against the Irish in the Calipari era.
The last game between the teams was the 2015 regional final, with the Wildcats emerging victorious, 68-66, and advancing to the Final Four before losing to Wisconsin. That game made Kentucky the first team to reach 38-0 in college basketball history.
Notre Dame's last win in the series was a 64-50 win early in the 2012-13 season. That game was part of the SEC/Big East Invitational.
Kentucky has won 12 of the last 14 games it has played against the Irish dating back to 1990.