Kentucky!

Kentucky Wildcats
Current record: 6-3
Current RPI: 83
Current Sagarin: 46
Current Pomeroy: 35
2007-08 record: 18-13 (lost to Marquette in first round of NCAA Tournament)
2007-08 RPI: 58
2007-08 Sagarin: 55
2007-08 Pomeroy: 55
Series: Kentucky leads 28-23
Last IU win: 12/8/07 (70-51 in Bloomington)
Last Kentucky win: 12/9/06 (59-54 in Lexington)
Last IU win over UK in Lexington: 12/20/88 (75-52)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 4 pm, CBS

No series has been more illustrative of the downturn of IU's basketball program in the last 15 years than IU's record against Kentucky. After IU upset #1 Kentucky in December 1993, IU led the all-time series with Kentucky 20-17. Since then, UK has gone 11-3 against IU, including 4-2 in Indianapolis, 6-0 in Louisville, 1-0 in Lexington, and 0-1 in Bloomington. IU now has won two of the last three, but will be a prohibitive underdog even against a so-so UK team. I don't have enough time for a full preview, but suffice it to say that Kentucky's tempo-free numbers are pretty solid on both sides of the ball with the glaring exception of turnovers. These are two of the most generous teams in the country, and if one or the other manages to keep turnovers in check, it could have a significant impact.

I had forgotten that Tom Crean's last win at Marquette was a first-round NCAA win over UK last season. That's the second time in five years that Crean and Marquette eliminated Kentucky, including a whipping of the top-ranked Wildcats in the 2003 regional final.