 | - Part Three - |  |
[Link to All-Time Series Results]
Note: This is a continuation of the series history. For the early years of this series, check Part one and Part two.
Game by Game Review Continued
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| UK's Andre Riddick punishes the rim |
The game also marked the first time Notre Dame had faced Kentucky in Rupp Arena. The Irish started the game by giving the Wildcats a taste or own medicine, as they sprinted to a 14-5 lead, in part by throwing the ball long over the Wildcat press and using a pressing defense of their own to harass UK reserve guard Richie Farmer, who had entered the contest when starter Dale Brown left the game with a sprained ankle just three minutes into the action.
But Kentucky came back on the strength of their three-point shooting and based on a 39-10 run held a 20-point lead at halftime. The surge was fueled in no small part by the three-point bombing of Farmer and the tenacity of another Wildcat reserve, Andre Riddick who scored eight points on four-for-four field goal shooting (three on vicious dunks) and eight rebounds. Farmer led everyone with a career-high 28 points which included five three point goals. Jamal Mashburn played an all-around game and contributed 25 points. Daimon Sweet led the Irish with 23 points while senior LaPhonso Ellis finished out his career against UK by adding 19 points and eight rebounds to the stats.
After the game, a Lexington columnist light-heartedly bemoaned the changing of the guard in South Bend when he commented "The Cats won 91-70, their 18th win in the series' last 23 meetings. But this one wasn't quite the same. There were no anti-MacLeod signs in the student section, no boos at the introduction of the Irish coach. There was no Digger. Remember those wonderful Cat-Irish Freedom Hall shoot-outs ? The ones where Digger would show up with a carnation and a smile, only to depart wilted and frowning, asking why UK wouldn't play in South Bend. Digger was 2-11 at the Fairgrounds. Cats fans loved it."
[Boxscore] - 1991-92
In his book Full Court Pressure, UK coach Rick Pitino discussed the game against Notre Dame in 1992 and had some sobering words for Fighting Irish prospects. "After the current seniors leave, it will take Notre Dame's program four to five years to achieve its former prominence. I'm not sure if they can ever come back unless they get into a conference. It's tough to get a schedule as an Independent. Notre Dame football can get away with it because they're one of the premier teams in the country. But basketball's different. Some teams use conference tournaments as a way to get to 17 or 18 victories and make themselves more attractive to the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Notre Dame does not have that luxury."
The 1992-93 matchup clearly showed two programs heading in opposite directions. Kentucky was ranked #2 in the nation and having successfully shaken off the probation dark ages was firmly back competing with the nation's basketball elite. The Cats enjoyed the fruits of their first stellar recruiting class, a class which included among others freshman forward Jared Prickett who chose Kentucky over the Irish. Notre Dame was 9-12 and still playing a brutal schedule and without a conference. Kentucky coach Rick Pitino discussed the Irish woes at the time and was a little more upbeat than his book, but still reiterated the main message when he said, "I love this school [Notre Dame]. I think the program can skyrocket if they get in a league or play a realistic schedule."
The Irish were led by Monty Williams, who had returned to the Irish after sitting out two seasons with a heart condition. He took the team on his back in the first half, scoring Notre Dame's first ten points of the game and 14 of their first 17. By halftime, the 6-8 forward had scored 21 points. However despite the outburst and despite playing on the Irish home floor, Kentucky looked to be firmly in control of the game with a 42-33 halftime lead, largely on forced turnovers.
Notre Dame came back early in the second half due in large part to two big plays (a four-point play where Ryan Hoover was fouled on a three-point shot and a five-point play where UK was called for an off-the-ball foul while Billy Taylor was hitting a three-pointer.) The plays helped cut the lead to three points, 48-45, however Kentucky's own 6-8 forward, Jamal Mashburn proceeded to take over the game at that point. Mashburn scored 8 of his 22 points to help push the Wildcats back into a comfortable lead and eventually won 81-62. Williams, who scored a game-high 28 points, could only do so much and Kentucky's depth finally took its toll as it held him scoreless for the remainder of the game. "Their depth had a lot to do with it, Williams said. "I had five (different) players on me. It was hard to adjust to each one."
[Boxscore] - 1992-93
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| UK's Jared Prickett chose the Cats over Notre Dame |
This dark period for the Irish coincided with one of the greatest string of seasons in Kentucky's storied history. The Wildcats, under Pitino's direction, were building a juggernaut which would not only beat their opponents, but would often embarrass them with their never-let-up philosophy and a rarely seen desire for perfection on the court.
Kentucky manhandled Notre Dame on the court during those times, often forcing the Irish into turnovers (34 turnovers alone in the 1994 game). Kentucky also enjoyed outstanding balance and depth. In 1994, Monty Williams returned for his senior season of eligibility and scored 19 points, however Kentucky placed four players with double digits and ran away with a 25 point victory. This game was the first game for UK after losing starting center Rodney Dent to injury which would effectively torpedo that squad's postseason hopes.
In 1995, Walter McCarty scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half to fuel the Wildcats to a 39-point victory in the Joyce Athletic Center which would mark the largest defeat by the Irish in that arena.
In December of 1996, Pat Garrity would score 25 points and pull down 10 rebounds for the Irish, but it wouldn't be nearly enough to prevent a 24 point defeat from being handed to them in Rupp Arena. Kentucky All-American Ron Mercer scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats, but he was supported well as three other players scored double figures for UK.
[Boxscore] - 1993-94
[Boxscore] - 1994-95
[Boxscore] - 1996-97
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| Tayshaun Prince blocks a Troy Murphy Shot |
Notre Dame saw John MacLeod depart and he was replaced by a young energetic coach in Matt Doherty. Doherty seemed to right the ship and the Irish were slowly but surely establishing their new identities as members of the Big East and starting to make noise again nationally. One reason was the emergence of All-American forward Troy Murphy. The 6'11" Murphy almost decided to turn professional after his sophomore year but was talked out of it by Doherty. Soon after, Doherty abruptly left the Irish to return to coach at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. The blow could have set the Irish program back another couple of years, however Notre Dame quickly regrouped and smartly hired a steady up-and-coming coach from the University of Delaware, Mike Brey.
When Brey and the Irish entered Rupp Arena in January of 2001, surprisingly it was they who were nationally ranked instead of the Wildcats. Kentucky had lost a number of early-season games which sent their national ranking plummeting off the top 25 chart and they were still trying to make their way back. The match-up was an intriguing one, as it pitted Murphy against Kentucky's own All-American candidate Tayshaun Prince.
The game started off roughly for Kentucky as Murphy and fellow big man Ryan Humphrey controlled the paint and jumped out to a 14-4 lead before Kentucky's reserves entered the fray and were able to pull UK into the lead. The score was close for most of the contest, with Lexington native David Graves, Humphrey, Murphy, Matt Carroll and Martin Ingelsby each scoring double figures to keep the Irish close. However Kentucky's depth and foul trouble on Murphy began to wear on Notre Dame. Despite Humphrey stepping up his production to draw the Irish close, Kentucky eventually extended the lead from 51-47 with a 13-3 run which effectively put the game out of reach.
Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince led the Wildcats with 19 points, but more importantly he did a great job in defending Murphy and eventually frustrating him into a below average outing of 14 points. Kentucky made great use of the double-team to harass Murphy and get him out of his rhythm. UK freshman point guard Cliff Hawkins proved to be the catalyst off the bench for the Wildcats and he was named the "player of the game" for his efforts. Keith Bogans, Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels all scored in double figures for the Wildcats and proved important in putting the game away.
[Boxscore] - 2000-01
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| David Graves graces the ND Game Program |
One potential aspect of Notre Dame's game plan may have been to not concentrate defensively on UK guard Keith Bogans, who had struggled mightily through most of the season with inconsistent outside shooting. However, Bogans found the rims at the JAC to his liking. "This is a nice arena to play in," he said. "We came in here yesterday to shoot around, and I started knocking shots down as soon as I got in here, so I kinda thought this may be a good shooting place."
Bogans' good shooting stayed true through the course of the game and he began to snipe away at the loose Notre Dame defense, eventually hitting 5 of 8 three point shots (and 8 of 12 overall) for 23 points. No other Wildcat scored in double figures, including uncharacteristically UK All-American Tayshaun Prince.
The Irish themselves received a boost from the sharp-shooting of Matt Carroll who at one point hit five straight baskets, including three three-pointers. However it was Bogans and the Wildcats who got the best of the exchange and Kentucky went into halftime with a 41-35 lead. Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run early in the second half but they never led and the Wildcats successfully pulled away, hitting their free-throws down the stretch before arriving at a 72-65 final score.
Carroll led the Irish with 18 points while Humphrey contributed 14, Thomas 13 and David Graves 12.
[Boxscore] - 2001-02
The following year saw the Fighting Irish return to Rupp Arena with a #10 ranking based on an impressive early season. The Wildcats were still recovering from a rocky early season which included a staggering 18-point loss to the Louisville Cardinals which dropped the Cats in the polls. The #16 ranked Wildcats were slowly but surely climbing the polls and were coming off an impressive game against Vanderbilt where they shut the Commodores down defensively on the road, allowing only 16 points to be scored in the second half.
The game against Notre Dame promised to help tell whether the Wildcats turnaround was for real or an aberration. Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, it proved to be no aberration. The Wildcats came out before a highly charged home crowd and shut down the Irish, holding them to 34% shooting from the field. Key to the Wildcat attack was Chuck Hayes who was literally everywhere on the floor. Playing lock-down defense, fighting for rebounds, scraping for loose balls, cutting to the basket for easy hoops and making nifty passes to his teammates, Hayes was clearly the key to the game. After all the damage had been done, Kentucky gained a convincing 88-73 victory over a highly regarded opponent and Hayes finished the night with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots. Marquis Estill, Erik Daniels and Keith Bogans each contributed double-figure scoring to UK's cause.
Also important to the victory was the job the Kentucky defenders (such as Cliff Hawkins) did on Irish star Chris Thomas, who was forced into 4-17 shooting. Senior Matt Carroll led the Irish with an outstanding 29-point effort. Said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, "We ran into a heck of a basketball team. I watched the second half of the Vanderbilt game live and I think they found their identity." Did they ever, Kentucky used their newfound defensive intensity to good effect and went on to not lose again in the regular season, earning the #1 ranking in the country by the end of the year.
[Boxscore] - 2002-03
The final game of the four-game series was held in South Bend in January of 2004. The Wildcats, although undersized, used their quickness and passing ability to cut through the Irish defense, often resulting in easy lay-ups. Said Kentucky forward Chuck Hayes, who led the Big Blue with 21 points, "They were pressuring all the passes to the wing. Coach has taught us since Day One to cut backdoor if they do that."
Kentucky held a 10-point lead, 39-29, at halftime and even withstood the exhortations of former Irish Coach Digger Phelps, who was attending a reunion of his 1974 squad which dramatically broke UCLA's record winning streak. Shouted Phelps to the partisan crowd at halftime, "We're down 10 points. I don't want to see a single one of you sitting down the second half. Let's beat Kentucky !" But just as the second half began, Cliff Hawkins spotted Hayes with a back-door lob which put Kentucky up even further, and deflated the Irish hopes. The television camera later panned to Phelps, sitting in his chair, looking dejected.
The Irish did mount a comeback, as with just under six minutes remaining in the game, they outscored the Wildcats 12-2 to trailed by 66-63 with just over a minute left. But the Irish couldn't advance any further, as they missed on some questionable shots and Kentucky was able to hit some free throws down the stretch. The game was sealed in the final moments by a Kelenna Azubuike dunk. The final score was 71-63.
[Boxscore] - 2003-04
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Both schools had relatively poor seasons and were coming off brutal stretches of conference losses during the season and disappointing early exits from their respective conference tournament. Although in Jodie Meeks and Luke Harangody, each team sported All-American caliber players. For Kentucky, their NIT appearance was the program's first season out of the NCAA Tournament since probation years in the early 1990's.
The Irish were supported by a small but enthusiastic home crowd and they were able to capitalize off open three-point looks and the inside play of Harangody to stay ahead of the Wildcats. In the second half the Irish built an imposing 17 point lead before Kentucky scratched back to cut the margin to five, 67-62. But that was as far as the Wildcats could get as they turned the ball over and failed to convert at critical times down the stretch.
In the end, nobody could contain Harangody inside as he scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Irish, who won the game 77-67. Jodie Meeks paced the Wildcats with 21 points while sophomore forward Patrick Patterson chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The game put to an end to a Kentucky team that was demoralized and shell-shocked from the coaching antics of second year head coach Billy Gillispie. This would prove to be his final game for Gillispie coaching the Wildcats as his role was terminated after the season was over. The Irish would proceed to Madison Square Garden but they too failed to advance, losing to Penn State in the NIT semifinals.
[Boxscore] - 2008-09 NIT
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The Louisville Cardinals had since abandoned Freedom Hall in favor of the newly-built KFC Yum! Center downtown so Kentucky was able to use the facility as they pleased, which included bringing their own floor to the old arena.
Kentucky was coming off a close loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill while the Fighting Irish entered the game with a perfect 8-0 record.
In the first half, the Irish jumped to a 38-27 lead based on the hot shooting of Mississippi State transfer Ben Hansbrough, who hit five three-pointers in the first half. But with under five minutes to play in the half, the Wildcats went on a 13-2 streak to end the half in a 40-40 tie. Kentucky continued to pour it on in the second half, holding the Irish without a field goal until there was under 13 minutes remaining in the game. The Irish remained within striking distance until the last few minutes of the game when Terrence Jones hit a three-point shot to put the Wildcats up by eight, and then followed by a steal with a little over a minute left where he was fouled by Hansbrough and hit two free thows. The final score was 72-58.
Ben Hansbrough led the Irish with 21 points. Kentucky was led by freshmen Terrence Jones with 27 points and 17 reboundss to go along with Brandon Knight's 20 points and five assists.
[Boxscore] - 2010-11 SEC/Big East Challenge
The Wildcats and Irish met once again as part of the SEC/Big East Challenge two years later, this time in South Bend. Kentucky was ranked #8 in the country by the Associated Press while Notre Dame was unranked, but one couldn't tell by the outcome.
The Irish, who wore all-black along with the partisan crowd, spotted the young Wildcats a 12-6 lead five minutes into the game, but after Alex Poythress picked up his second foul of the 1st half and had to sit on the bench, the Irish went on a 21-6 run to take control, and they never looked back.
Notre Dame held a 36-25 halftime lead and once the 2nd half began, they hit a barrage of three-pointers to take a commanding lead of 53-35. Kentucky grad-transfer Julius Mays heroically hit three three-pointers within the span of three minutes to cut a 20-point Irish lead down to 13 but it was too little too late.
Mays ended up leading the Wildcats' scoring with 16 points while freshman phenom Nerlens Noel contributed ten points and seven rebounds. UK's leading scorers to that point in the season, Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress were relatively quiet with only three points apiece.
The Irish had four players in double figures. Eric Atkins led with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting while big Jack Cooley contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jerian Grant and Cameron Biedscheid also scored double figures, with 13 and 10 respectively.
During halftime of the game Notre Dame Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te'o was introduced to the raucous capacity crowd. To many Kentucky fan's chagrin, ESPN spent much of the second half interviewing Te'o as the Wildcats struggled on the floor.
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[Boxscore] - 2012-13 SEC/Big East Challenge
By the 2014-15 season, the situation had turned remarkably well for the Wildcats. They were riding a 37-win unbeaten streak and were looking to make a clean sweep of the NCAA tournament field to be the first undefeated team since Indiana in 1976 went 32-0. All that stood in their way in reaching the Final Four was #8 ranked Notre Dame which was 32-5 and had just won the ACC tournament.
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For Kentucky, freshman All-American Karl-Anthony Towns shook off a forgettable one-point outing vs. West Virginia and put together probably his most dominating game while at Kentucky. Towns scored 25 points on 10-13 shooting to lead the Wildcats. But it wasn't easy, he was in a battle with Notre Dame's 6-10 big man Zach Auguste who contributed 20 points of his own with the same 10-13 shooting marks.
The two teams continued to battle through the 2nd half. After a three-point shot by Aaron Harrison, Kentucky went ahead 64-63 with just over three minutes to play. Said Harrison about the shot: "I just knew I had to take the shot because we needed a boost in some sort of way, and I knew I didn't play very well throughout the game, and I knew I had to give my team something." But Notre Dame All-American Jerian Grant answered with a three-pointer of his own with 2:30 left in the game to put the Irish ahead. Towns tied the score with a power play inside. In the final minute Grant attempted another key three-pointer but was blocked by Willie Cauley-Stein, who played a fantastic defensive game.
After two free throws by Andrew Harrison put Kentucky ahead 68-66 with six seconds remaining, the Irish had one more chance. Jerian Grant raced down the sideline with Willie Cauley-Stein tracking him the entire court. Grant's shot from the corner just missed and the Wildcats were victorious. Noted Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey of the final shot: "We'll go down with him [Grant] making plays...He's made plays for us all season."
Said John Calipari of the Fighting Irish: "Give Notre Dame credit...They came right after us from the beginning. If they make some plays instead of us, they're going (the Fina Four) instead of us."
Unfortunately for Kentucky, the following game the Wildcats ran into a buzz-saw in Wisconsin and their dream of a perfect season was dashed.
[Boxscore] - 2014-15 NCAA Midwest Regional Finals
Please note that the following reference materials were consulted for the above. 1.) Lexington Herald 2.) Louisville Courier Journal 3.) Chicago Tribune 4.) Big Blue Machine by Russell Rice 5.) The Winning Tradition by Bert Nelli 6.) The Rupp Years by Tev Laudeman 7.) The Notre Dame Basketball Media Guide and 8.) the official Notre Dame Athletics website among others. I'd also like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Neil Burch for locating many of the quotes found in this page.
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Page written by Jon Scott. Please with any corrections or additional information.
Last Updated December 12, 2020