Before Kentucky opens its preseason against No. 1 Purdue on Friday night, let’s catch up on the series history with Purdue. Hard to believe, but the two programs haven’t met in nearly 30 years. The last meeting was in the Great Eight in December 1997, early in Tubby Smith’s first season in Lexington. There were seven other meetings prior to that one, dating back to the first-ever Kentucky-Purdue game in 1949.
As we count down to the Boilermakers’ trip to Rupp Arena, let’s take a look back at the first eight games in the series.
December 3, 1997: #7 Kentucky 89, #6 Purdue 75 (Great Eight)
Kentucky and Purdue last met in 1997 at the Great Eight in Chicago, a top-10 showdown between No.