IU hosts Kentucky in 51st border war

It’s been 17 years since Big Blue met Big Red on \n17th Street. \nThe Hoosiers sent the Wildcats out of Assembly Hall with a 3-point loss, and since then the two squads have played on neutral courts in Indianapolis and Louisville.\nA scheduling conflict moved last year’s game from Louisville’s Freedom Hall to Kentucky’s own Rupp Arena. In return, Kentucky (4-2) will meet the No.-15 IU men’s basketball team (7-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall in the 51st game of their rivalry.\nIn a press conference Thursday, IU coach Kelvin Sampson said he expects injured freshman guard Eric Gordon to play in the game. \nGordon, IU’s leading scorer with 24.3 points per game heading into Saturday’s contest, bruised his back after falling to the ground during the first half of IU’s 84-72 win against Tennessee State on Tuesday. \nThe Wildcats lead the all-time series 28-22 and are 13-3 against IU since the two schools last met in Bloomington. \nHistorically, Kentucky and IU are two of college basketball’s most successful programs. The Wildcats have won seven national championships, the most recent coming in 1998, which ranks them No. 2 all-time. The Hoosiers have five, which puts them third. \nBoth schools are in the top 10 for most all-time wins. \nBut the storied rivalry is not void of new faces. \nSampson, hired in March 2006, will coach just his second game against the Wildcats as IU’s coach. Last April, Kentucky hired former Texas A&M coach Billy Gillespie to replace Tubby Smith as head honcho in Lexington. Sampson and Gillespie have previously met four times before when Sampson coached Oklahoma against Texas A&M in the Big 12. \nPlus, there’s Gordon, IU’s most hyped freshman since Isiah Thomas. The Wildcats have their own stellar freshman in forward Patrick Patterson. \n“He is a monster,” Sampson said. “He is a terrific, terrific talent. And I like his motor. Big kids with motors like Patrick Patterson are unique.”\nPatterson is averaging 16.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game.\nAnd to add to the mystique, IU freshman guard Jordan Crawford will square off against older brother Joe Crawford, a senior guard for the Wildcats. \n“There is going to be a little bit of trash talking, but I am trying not to make this an individual battle, because this is way bigger than that,” Jordan Crawford said. “Kentucky versus Indiana, period, it’s a big game.”\nSampson agreed. \n“I think all rivalry games are like that,” he said. “Indiana-Kentucky is a lot like Notre Dame-Southern California in football. These are both great programs with rich traditions and I think that is what drives college basketball. These are games that fans of both schools circle early on their calendars. I know the players look forward to it. We had a really good game last year in Lexington, and I anticipate having another really good game here in Bloomington. I think kids at this level take pride in their performances. And as a coach, you want every game to be a big game for them.”\nDane Fife, a former IU player and current coach at IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne, was 1-3 against the Wildcats during his four-year career as a Hoosier. Still, those vivid rivalry games stand out in his memory.\n“There wasn’t a team or rivalry or opponent that you wanted to beat more as a player at IU,” Fife said. “That’s no disrespect to any of the other program because we played against some great programs. When I look back on my playing career, my successes and failures against Kentucky are the ones that stand out the most when discussing rivalry.”\nThe IU Athletics Department is encouraging all fans to wear white to create a “White Out” effect for the game. It is the first of three white outs for the year – the other two will be against Illinois and Michigan State. \nA student group, Take Back Assembly Hall, had previously organized a “Stripe Out,” in which different sections would alternate between white and red apparel, but those plans have been postponed. \nSaturday’s game, broadcast by CBS, will be the first time IU plays on network television this season. \nStaff writer Chris Engel contributed to this report.