How might new Kentucky coach Mark Pope feel about the Indiana series?
Pope could be more willing to play the Hoosiers on a regular basis, unlike his predecessor.
Restoring the men’s basketball series between Indiana and Kentucky was a goal of Mike Woodson’s once he arrived in Bloomington. Last year, he got it done.
The Hoosiers and Wildcats, then coached by John Calipari, agreed to a four-game series to be played in Rupp Arena, Lucas Oil Stadium and Assembly Hall. The agreement drew some criticism with Kentucky getting two true home games while Indiana received one, but Woodson was getting that game back on the schedule no matter what.
Well, Calipari is gone.
It was he who helped end the regular season series over a decade ago following a last-second shot from Christian Watford in Assembly Hall. In the years since, Calipari said repeatedly that he wouldn’t go back to Bloomington.
The two programs clashed on a yearly basis every year since 1969 after first playing in 1924. The rivalry still means something in Southern Indiana, getting more intense the closer you get to the Ohio River.
But now Mark Pope is in charge in Lexington. What could that mean? Well, a few things.
Pope probably gets it. He’s not just some coach coming to lead a blue blood back to glory, he’s a former Wildcat himself. He played in those games every year, never losing to Indiana during his time in Kentucky blue.
That’s a lot like Mike Woodson, also a former player coaching his alma mater. Woodson and Calipari knew one another for years thanks to the former’s NBA past. Both coached under Larry Brown. That probably made talks a bit easier.
Both coaches have a deeper understanding of the rivalry as players. Could that lead to a desire to keep it going after this four game series?
