Best SEC basketball Rivalries

Gay

When Arkansas joined the sec it was definitely Arkansas vs Kentucky and the games are still highly competitive.

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2. Auburn vs Alabama
-Iron Bowl just constant hate

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The back and forth on Twitter between Auburn and Bama fans is 100x more than what football produces. It’s really become quite a hate-fest between the two fanbases.

Arkansas vs Kentucky does have some interesting storylines. They both have had Eddie Sutton and John Calipari. They had the great back and forth between Nolan Richardson and Rick Pitino in the 90s.

Their rivalry reminds me a lot of Bama and LSU in football. Shared coaches and respected programs. However, Arkansas hates UK way more than UK thinks about the Hogs. Similar to how LSU hates Bama but they are third place for the Crimson Tide.

The Hogs and Cats are not a historic rivalry past the 90s just like LSU Gumps isnt a rivalry before 2000. In order to be all time rivalry status, it has to be constant hatred decade after decade for over 50 years or more

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Best SEC basketball Rivalries

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While not focusing on "rivalries" this question made me think of some of the most competitive SEC games...where the teams just seemed to hate each other so much...

#1
Feb 12, 1983 - Kentucky vs Auburn - Memorial Coliseum
Kentucky won 71-69...Charles Barkley was ejected in the 2nd minute of the game. During a rebound, Charles Hurt hit Barkley in the head...Barkley retaliated by pushing Hurt in the back and was ejected. Hurt averaged just over 8 points and just under 5 rebounds per game. Barkley averaged over 15 points and around 10 rebounds per game. Hurt's hard foul on Barkley may be the best coaching Joe B. Hall did his entire time at Kentucky. I will add that Hurt played 17 minutes in that game and finished with 4 rebounds and 0 points.

In his time at Auburn, Barkley finished 3-5 against Kentucky, who only lost 14 SEC games total during that period...so, 1/5 of Kentucky's SEC losses came at the hands of Barkley during that 3 year period.

#2
Feb 11, 1978 - LSU vs Kentucky - Maravich Assembly Center
Kentucky would finish the season 30-2 and win the Final 4. LSU would finish 18-9 and not make the postseason. But that night, they would go head-to-head with Kentucky. LSU would win 95-94 in Overtime...and all 5 LSU starters would be fouled out by the end of the game. LSU lost a 12-point lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation, but Dale Brown stuck with the 4-corners.

In overtime, LSU had Freshman Rick Mattick in the game, who had taken 15 free throws all season, but he was 3-4 in OT for LSU. They also had Floyd Bailye, who had only taken 13 shots all season, but he was 2-2 from the field in OT. This was when the SEC had to start taking notice of Dale Brown. The following year he would take LSU to the Sweet-16, the Elite-8 the next season, and the Final-4 the season after that.

UGA vs Losing Season

I am glad that Florida v UK is back to being placed twice this year. Should be permanently but we'll take what we can get.

When it was Stansbury/Gottfried, the Bama/MSU rivalry was as good as it gets. I still don’t like State basketball but the hate is gone.

As far as SEC opponents go, we hate Tennessee first and foremost. Pretty non negotiable for every UK fan.

After the dirty rotten filthy stinking Vols, I'd say it's either Florida or Arkansas depending on the UK fan you ask.

After that it more or less fluctuates based on who's relevant in the league. None of you are consistent enough to maintain any semblance of rivalry status with us.

BP at Auburn for example had them on our dislike radar, but they are back to their usual spot on the ladder, so we don't care about them anymore.

Tennessee we will always hate, without exception. The heat with Florida is because of their relevance with Billy Donovan, and then continuing to maintain a relatively competitive program over the subsequent years.

Arkansasmis pretty self explanatory to anyone who reads this board, and that isn't because of Calipari. It's because they've been enormous jackasess since they joined the conference and thought they could come at the King when they had Nolan Richardson. They haven't shut the frick up since.

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It's because they've been enormous jackasess since they joined the conference and thought they could come at the King when they had Nolan Richardson. They haven't shut the frick up since.

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Arkansas had great respect for Kentucky when we joined the conference because they were a top program way back then with Pitino and I still follow Pitino now when I can because he’s a great coach and respected opponent. The games between him and Richardson were must watch tv and even played on superbowl Sunday.

The conference is more competitive now so Kentucky isn’t the go to bell cow program they once were. That’s too bad for the conference for sure.

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the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team played the Kentucky Wildcats on a Super Bowl Sunday, specifically February 12, 1995, in a major SEC showdown moved to that prime national TV slot for a huge audience, with Arkansas winning in a memorable upset.
The Game: A nationally televised game where the #16 Arkansas Razorbacks defeated #1 Kentucky, with a memorable half-court buzzer-beater at halftime by Reggie Garrett.

The Date: Sunday, February 12, 1995, coinciding with Super Bowl XXIX.
Significance: It was a massive event for both programs, with Kentucky calling it their "Super Bowl" due to the buzz, as noted by fans and media, and Arkansas highlights the event.