We meet again: Kentucky vs. North Carolina by the numbers
Kentucky and North Carolina will collide for the 39th time Sunday in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament in Memphis.
Kentucky won the most recent meeting, 103-100, in December as Malik Monk scored 47 points in the CBS Sports Classic at Las Vegas.
Kentucky is the winningest program in the history of college basketball, with 2,237 victories. North Carolina ranks third with 2,203. Still lurking in the 2017 NCAA bracket is the program with the second-most wins. Kansas has 2,217.
North Carolina leads the all-time series against Kentucky, 23-15, but UK has won four of the past five meetings.
Kentucky (32-5) is the No. 2 seed in the South Region. North Carolina (30-7) is the No. 1 seed.
By the numbers
Category | Kentucky | UNC |
All-time wins | 2,237 | 2,203 |
All-time losses | 687 | 781 |
All-time win pct. | .765 | .739 |
NCAA titles | 8 | 5 |
NCAA Final Fours | 17 | 19 |
NCAA tourneys | 56 | 48 |
NCAA tourney wins | 124 | 120 |
Naismith Hall of Famers | 10 | 9 |
Consensus First-Team All-Americans | 21 | 17 |
1,000-point scorers | 60 | 76 |
NBA first-round picks | 42 | 47 |
Players currently in NBA | 25 | 14 |
NCAA TITLES
Kentucky (8) — 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012
North Carolina (5) — 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009
NAISMITH HALL OF FAME MEMBERS
Kentucky (10) — John Calipari, Louie Dampier, Cliff Hagan, Dan Issel, C.M. Newton, Rick Pitino, Frank Ramsey, Pat Riley, Adolph Rupp, Adrian Smith.
North Carolina (9) — Ben Carnevale, Frank M cGuire, Dean Smith, Billy Cunningham, Bob McAdoo, Larry Brown, James Worthy, Roy Williams, Michael Jordan.
PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON NBA ROSTERS
Kentucky (25) — Eric Bledsoe (Phoenix), Devin Booker (Phoenix), Willie Cauley-Stein (Sacramento), DeMarcus Cousins (New Orleans), Anthony Davis (New Orleans), Archie Goodwin (Brooklyn), Andrew Harrison (Memphis), Terrence Jones (Milwaukee), Enes Kanter (Oklahoma City), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), Brandon Knight (Phoenix), Skal Labissiere (Sacramento), DeAndre Liggins (Cleveland), Trey Lyles (Utah), Jodie Meeks (Orlando), Jamal Murray (Denver), Nerlens Noel (Dallas), Patrick Patterson (Toronto), Julius Randle (L.A. Lakers), Rajon Rondo (Chicago), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota), Tyler Ulis (Phoenix), John Wall (Washington), Kyle Wiltjer (Houston), James Young (Boston).
North Carolina (14) — Harrison Barnes (Dallas), Reggie Bullock (Detroit), Vince Carter (Memphis), Ed Davis (Portland), Wayne Ellington (Miami), Raymond Felton (L.A. Clippers), Danny Green (San Antonio), John Henson (Milwaukee), Brice Johnson (L.A. Clippers), Ty Lawson (Sacramento), James Michael McAdoo (Golden State), Marvin Williams (Charlotte), Brandan Wright (Memphis), Tyler Zeller (Boston).
UK-UNC series
North Carolina leads 23-15
Date | Winner | Score | Location |
Feb. 29, 1924 | North Carolina | 41-20 | Atlanta (SIAA tourney) |
Jan. 4, 1929 | North Carolina | 26-15 | Lexington |
Feb. 27, 1932 | North Carolina | 43-42 | Atlanta (Southern tourney) |
Jan. 9, 1950 | Kentucky | 83-44 | Lexington |
Dec. 18, 1959 | Kentucky | 76-70 | Lexington (UKIT) |
Dec. 13, 1960 | Kentucky | 70-65 | Greensboro, N.C. |
Dec. 17, 1962 | North Carolina | 68-66 | Lexington |
Dec. 9, 1963 | Kentucky | 100-80 | Lexington |
Dec. 7, 1964 | North Carolina | 82-67 | Charlotte, N.C. |
Dec. 13, 1966 | North Carolina | 64-55 | Lexington |
Dec. 12, 1967 | North Carolina | 84-77 | Greensboro, N.C. |
Dec. 7, 1968 | North Carolina | 87-77 | Lexington |
Dec. 8, 1969 | Kentucky | 94-87 | Charlotte, N.C. |
Dec. 11, 1972 | North Carolina | 78-70 | Louisville |
Dec. 10, 1973 | North Carolina | 101-84 | Greensboro, N.C. |
Dec. 9, 1974 | Kentucky | 90-78 | Louisville |
Dec. 8, 1975 | North Carolina | 90-77 | Charlotte, N.C. |
Mar. 19, 1977 | North Carolina | 79-72 | College Park, Md. (NCAA tourney) |
Dec. 26, 1981 | North Carolina | 82-69 | East Rutherford, N.J. |
Dec. 27, 1989 | North Carolina | 121-110 | Louisville |
Dec. 10, 1990 | North Carolina | 84-81 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Mar. 25, 1995 | North Carolina | 74-61 | Birmingham, Ala. (NCAA tourney) |
Dec. 2, 2000 | Kentucky | 93-76 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Dec. 8, 2001 | Kentucky | 79-59 | Lexington |
Dec. 7, 2002 | Kentucky | 98-81 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Jan. 3, 2004 | Kentucky | 61-56 | Lexington |
Dec. 4, 2004 | North Carolina | 91-78 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Dec. 3, 2005 | North Carolina | 83-79 | Lexington |
Dec. 2, 2006 | North Carolina | 75-63 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Dec. 1, 2007 | North Carolina | 86-77 | Lexington |
Nov. 18, 2008 | North Carolina | 77-58 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Dec. 5, 2009 | Kentucky | 68-66 | Lexington |
Dec. 4, 2010 | North Carolina | 75-73 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Mar. 27, 2011 | Kentucky | 76-69 | Newark, N.J. (NCAA tourney) |
Dec. 3, 2011 | Kentucky | 73-72 | Lexington |
Dec. 14, 2013 | North Carolina | 82-77 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Dec. 13, 2014 | Kentucky | 84-70 | Lexington |
Dec. 17, 2016 | Kentucky | 103-100 | Las Vegas |
Winningest programs
1. Kentucky — 2,237
2. Kansas — 2,217
3. North Carolina — 2,203
4. Duke — 2,115
5. Temple — 1,886
6. Syracuse — 1,861
7. UCLA — 1,849
8. Notre Dame — 1,845
9. St. John’s — 1,817
10. Louisville — 1,803
This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 5:27 PM with the headline "We meet again: Kentucky vs. North Carolina by the numbers."