IU vs UK Men’s Basketball

One of college basketball’s most important and storied rivalries is back on the schedule. Indiana and Kentucky jointly agreed to a four-game men’s basketball series beginning with the 2025-26 season and continuing thru the 2028-29 campaign.

The four-game series will include two home games for each program. To provide more Hoosier fans with an opportunity to witness an IU-UK game firsthand, IU has elected to hold one of its home contests at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The two programs faced each other in Indianapolis 10 times from 1987-2005 at the Hoosier/RCA Dome, games that featured electric atmospheres in front of crowds in excess of 40,000.

The series schedule is:

Dec. 13, 2025 – UK 72, IU 60 – Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center (Lexington, Ky.)

Nov. 20, 2026 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind. (IU home game)

Dec. 18, 2027 – Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, Lexington, Ky.

Dec. 16, 2028 – Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.

The December 2025 contest marked the first regular season game between the long-time rivals since Indiana’s 73-72 victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Dec. 10, 2011. That 14-year regular season lapse is the longest in the series since the two college basketball bluebloods went 21 years between regular season encounters from 1944 to 1965. The two teams have met twice since the 2011 game in the NCAA Tournament, with Kentucky posting a 102-90 win in Atlanta in the 2012 Sweet 16, and IU earning a 73-67 win in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tourney in Des Moines.

Kentucky leads the all-time series between the two schools, 33-25. Kentucky ranks second all-time with eight national championships, while Indiana is fourth with five.

All individuals entering the facility must have a ticket, regardless of age.

CLEAR BAG POLICY is in effect for this event.

Lucas Oil Stadium is cashless.