On Saturday afternoon at the SEC Tournament, Kentucky and Tennessee will face each other in basketball for the 235th time. Thanks to that heavy volume, no one has beaten the Wildcats more than the Volunteers. Yet, this rivalry was often not the premium one in the conference.
In the 1990s, Arkansas became Kentucky’s top competition when Nolan Richardson’s program transitioned from the Southwest Conference into the SEC. For five years from 1992-96, the Hogs and Wildcats battled for conference supremacy with each winning national titles.
Shortly after that, Billy Donovan got Florida hoops rolling. In 2000, the Gators made the Final Four and lost to Michigan State in the championship.