Kentucky needed a win in the worst way. What they delivered against Indiana was anything but pretty. In the words of head coach Mark Pope it was “gross, beautiful” basketball at its finest. But for a program searching for some stability, it absolutely counted.
And here’s the wild part: the whole country watched it happen.
‘Gross, beautiful’ basketball America still had to watch the Cats and Hoosiers
ESPN announced that Kentucky–Indiana was its most-watched college basketball game so far this season and its most-watched December college hoops telecast in the last five years, pulling in roughly 2 million viewers. For a mid-December game between two teams still figuring themselves out, that’s a massive number.
If you ever needed proof that Kentucky–Indiana belongs on the schedule every single year, it’s right there. Two million reasons, to be exact.
The game itself looked like it had been dragged out of the mid-80s: physical, choppy, low on shot-making and high on frustration. Kentucky clanked open looks. Indiana turned it over. Both fanbases spent long stretches yelling at their televisions more than cheering. And yet nobody changed the channel, because the uniforms, the history, and the stakes still matter.
That’s the thing about this rivalry. It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be important. It just has to exist. It gives Kentucky a good measuring stick outside the SEC, in front of a national audience, against a program that thinks of itself the same way the Wildcats do, as a blueblood that’s supposed to matter.
For Mark Pope, this kind of win buys time. For the players, it’s a reminder that even an ugly W in that jersey can resonate far beyond Rupp. And for the decision-makers who control future schedules, it should be a flashing neon sign.
Neutral site, home-and-home, Indianapolis, Louisville, wherever, figure out the details later. Kentucky and Indiana need to keep playing. The TV ratings already made the best argument anyone could ask for.