It’s always a big victory when Kentucky wins on the road in the SEC but there’s something about winning in Knoxville that’s led to success in March.
Kentucky’s 77-64 win at Thompson-Boling Arena was the first win at Rocky Top for the Wildcats since February 2015, ending a four-game losing streak.
Entering Saturday, John Calipari was 3-6 at Thompson-Boling Arena during his tenure with Kentucky, winning in 2011, 2012 and 2015 (UK didn’t play in Knoxville during the 2014 NCAA runner up season). All three of those seasons Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, including winning a national championship in 2012.
In fact, winning in Knoxville has historically been a good omen for Kentucky. The Wildcats have never won a national championship in a season they failed to win at Tennessee.
It may just be a silly statistic but Thompson-Boling Arena is a tough place to win. Even though Tennessee is struggling this season, winning in that environment was a big step forward for Calipari’s Cats.
Will the win propel Kentucky to an 18th Final Four and 9th NCAA title? We’ll have to wait and see, but history shows us banners are only added to Rupp Arena when they do.
