Kentucky travels to South Bend, Ind., Sunday for its final non-conference regular season game. It?s the final matchup in a four-year home and home contract with the Fighting Irish. The game will be broadcast by CBS at 4 p.m. ET. UK has won each of the previous three meetings in the current contract.
The Wildcats have won five of their last six games this season and are 9-1 against non-conference opponents. Kentucky has won 26 of its last 28 games away from Rupp Arena, including all seven games this year.
The game marks UK?s sixth appearance on CBS this season and its eighth national network game this year. Dick Enberg and Matt Guokas will call the action.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame has experienced up-and-down play this season, entering the game with a 9-5 record after losing two of its last three games. The Fighting Irish most recently defeated Virginia Tech on Tuesday, 74-63, on the road after back-to-back losses at Pittsburgh and against Syracuse in South Bend.
Point guard Chris Thomas leads the Irish in scoring with 19.5 ppg, while averaging 5.6 assists per game. Torin Francis contributes 16.1 ppg, while Chris Quinn adds 14.1 ppg. Francis is ND?s leading rebounder with 10.0 boards per contest.
Kentucky and Notre Dame have played one common opponent this season – Indiana. The Cats recorded an 80-41 victory over the Hoosiers in Indianapolis, while Notre Dame fell to IU at home, 66-63.
Mike Brey is in his ninth season as a head coach, holding a 174-88 (.664) career record. His is 75-36 (.676) in his fourth year at Notre Dame. He has taken the Irish to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons.
Series History
This is the 58th meeting between the two teams with Kentucky owning a 40-17 advantage. This is the 14th meeting in South Bend, where the Irish have an 8-5 lead in the series. The Wildcats have won the last nine games in the series.
Sunday?s game marks the fourth and final contest in a four-year home and home contract. UK has won all three meetings in the renewal.
Last year, No. 16 Kentucky upset 10th-ranked Notre Dame, 88-73, in Rupp Arena as Chuck Hayes had a then-career day with 17 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Thirty-two of the 57 games have been played in Louisville. The teams played in the River City every season between 1960-81, highlighted by the Cats? 34-28 overtime victory there in 1981 B.S.C. (Before Shot Clock). ND Coach Digger Phelps milked the clock while trying to capture the victory.
Notre Dame?s last win in the series came on March 5, 1990, an 80-67 victory in South Bend over Rick Pitino?s first UK squad. Tubby Smith served as an assistant on that team as Notre Dame ended UK?s season with a 14-14 record. The Cats wasted a seven-point halftime lead as Joe Fredrick tallied 23 points, Elmer Bennett added 22 and LaPhonso Ellis chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds. Derrick Miller countered with 17 for the Cats, while current UK assistant Reggie Hanson had 15.
Tubby Smith is 3-0 against the Irish in his career, while Mike Brey is 0-3 against UK as a head coach. Brey, however, does own two victories over Kentucky as a Duke assistant coach (1988-95), including the 1992 NCAA East Region Final that saw the Blue Devils end UK?s ?Unforgettable? season.
UK vs. Big East
UK owns an 87-35 record against current Big East teams for a .713 winning percentage. Last year, the Cats were 1-0 against the conference with the win over Notre Dame.
Wildcat-Irish Connections
UK senior Erik Daniels and ND junior Jordan Cornette both hail from Cincinnati, Ohio. Daniels played for Princeton High School, while Cornette went to St. Xavier.
ND Coordinator of Basketball Operations, Martin Ingelsby, played point guard for the Irish from 1998-2001. He was 0-1 in his career against the Cats.
