Comparing college basketball’s two winningest programs as Kentucky, Kansas collide again
Kentucky and Kansas — the two winningest programs in men’s college basketball history — collide for the 31st time on Tuesday (9:30 p.m., ESPN).
The Wildcats enjoy a 21-victory lead over the Jayhawks in the race for most all-time wins, UK with 2,239 and Kansas with 2,218. The Wildcats have added three victories to their lead since the teams took the court against each other last year.
UK also leads the all-time series between the teams, 22-8, and is 8-1 all-time against Kansas on neutral courts, where Tuesday’s game will be played (United Center in Chicago). Despite the Wildcats’ series advantage, the Jayhawks have claimed the past two meetings, winning 79-73 last season in Rupp Arena and 90-84 in overtime the previous season in Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas (1-0) is ranked No. 4 this week in The Associated Press media poll and was rated No. 3 in the USA Today coaches’ preseason poll. Kentucky (2-0) is No. 7 in the media poll and No. 3 in the coaches’ rankings.
KENTUCKY-KANSAS: BY THE NUMBERS
Category | Kentucky | Kansas |
All-time wins | 2,239 | 2,218 |
All-time losses | 688 | 841 |
All-time win pct. | .765 | .725 |
NCAA titles | 8 | 3 |
NCAA Final Fours | 17 | 14 |
NCAA tourneys | 56 | 46 |
NCAA tourney wins | 124 | 103 |
Hall of Famers | 10 | 19 |
Consensus First-Team All-Americans | 27 | 29 |
1,000-point scorers | 60 | 59 |
NBA first-round picks | 45 | 33 |
Players currently in NBA | 27 | 16 |
NCAA TITLES
Kentucky (8) — 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012.
Kansas (3) — 1952, 1988, 2008.
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.
Kansas (19) — Phog Allen, Larry Brown, John Bunn, Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Endacott, Bill Johnson, Allen Kelley, Arthur Lonborg, Clyde Lovellette, John McClendon, Ralph Miller, Dr. James Naismith, E.C. Quigley, Adolph Rupp, Bill Self, Dean Smith, Jo Jo White, Roy Williams, Lynette Woodard.
PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON NBA ROSTERS
Kentucky (27) — Bam Adebayo (Miami), Eric Bledsoe (Milwaukee), Devin Booker (Phoenix), Willie Cauley-Stein (Sacramento), DeMarcus Cousins (New Orleans), Anthony Davis (New Orleans), De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), Andrew Harrison (Memphis), Dakari Johnson (Oklahoma City), Enes Kanter (New York), Brandon Knight (Phoenix), Skal Labissiere (Sacramento), DeAndre Liggins (Milwaukee), Trey Lyles (Denver), Jodie Meeks (Washington), Darius Miller (New Orleans), Malik Monk (Charlotte), Jamal Murray (Denver), Nerlens Noel (Dallas), Patrick Patterson (Oklahoma City), Alex Poythress (Indiana), Julius Randle (L.A. Lakers), Rajon Rondo (New Orleans), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota), Tyler Ulis (Phoenix), John Wall (Washington).
Kansas (16) — Cole Aldrich (Minnesota), Darrell Arthur (Denver), Tarik Black (Houston), Mario Chalmers (Memphis), Nick Collison (Oklahoma City), Cheick Diallo (New Orleans), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia), Josh Jackson (Phoenix), Frank Mason III (Sacramento), Ben McLemore (Memphis), Marcus Morris (Boston), Markieff Morris (Washington), Kelly Oubre (Washington), Wayne Selden (Memphis), Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota), Jeff Withey (Dallas).
KENTUCKY-KANSAS SERIES
Kentucky leads 22-8
Date | Winner | Score | Location |
Dec. 16, 1950 | Kentucky | 68-39 | Lexington |
Dec. 14, 1959 | Kentucky | 77-72 (OT) | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 6, 1969 | Kentucky | 115-85 | Lexington |
Dec. 4, 1971 | Kentucky | 79-69 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 23, 1972 | Kentucky | 77-71 | Lexington |
Dec. 3, 1973 | Kansas | 71-63 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 23, 1974 | Kentucky | 100-63 | Louisville |
Dec. 13, 1975 | Kentucky | 54-48 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 11, 1976 | Kentucky | 90-63 | Lexington |
Dec. 10, 1977 | Kentucky | 73-66 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 9, 1978 | Kentucky | 67-66 (OT) | Lexington |
Dec. 12, 1979 | Kentucky | 57-56 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 13, 1980 | Kentucky | 87-73 | Lexington |
Dec. 12, 1981 | Kentucky | 77-74 (OT) | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 29, 1982 | Kentucky | 83-62 | Louisville |
Dec. 10, 1983 | Kentucky | 72-50 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 31, 1984 | Kentucky | 92-89 | Louisville |
Dec. 14, 1985 | Kansas | 83-66 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 9, 1989 | Kansas | 150-95 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Dec. 8, 1990 | Kentucky | 88-71 | Lexington |
Dec. 1, 1998 | Kentucky | 63-45 | Chicago (Great Eight) |
Mar. 14, 1999 | Kentucky | 92-88 (OT) | New Orleans (NCAA 2nd rd.) |
Jan. 9, 2005 | Kansas | 65-59 | Lexington |
Jan. 7, 2006 | Kansas | 73-46 | Lawrence, Kan. |
Mar. 18, 2007 | Kansas | 88-76 | Chicago (NCAA 2nd rd.) |
Nov. 15, 2011 | Kentucky | 75-65 | New York (Champions Classic) |
Apr. 2, 2012 | Kentucky | 67-59 | New Orleans (NCAA Title) |
Nov. 18, 2014 | Kentucky | 72-40 | Indianapolis (Champions Classic) |
Jan. 30, 2016 | Kansas | 90-84 (OT) | Lawrence, Kan. |
Jan. 28, 2017 | Kansas | 79-73 | Lexington |
WINNINGEST PROGRAMS
College basketball’s all-time winningest programs by number of victories:
1. Kentucky 2,239
2. Kansas 2,218
3. North Carolina 2,207
4. Duke 2,117
5. Temple 1,886
6. Syracuse 1,882
7. UCLA 1,850
8. Notre Dame 1,847
9. St. John’s 1,818
10. Louisville 1,804
11. Indiana 1,802
12. BYU 1,787
13. Utah 1,781
14. Arizona 1,771
15. Illinois 1,766
16. Cincinnati 1,759
17. Texas 1,751
18. Purdue 1,749
19. Western Kentucky 1,748
20. Penn 1,747
21. Washington 1,746
22. West Virginia 1,730
23. Princeton 1,718
24. Villanova 1,714
25. Oregon State 1,712
This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Comparing college basketball’s two winningest programs as Kentucky, Kansas collide again."