Recapping the Brief History Between Michigan and Kentucky
Kentucky and Michigan have combined for the 25 Final Fours, but when the two take the court at O2 Arena in London, it would only be the eighth meeting between the two storied college basketball programs. The Wildcats and Wolverines had played just four times in five years in the late 1960s. Since then, they have faced off only twice, and both we epic encounters in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky is leading the all-time series by a margin of 5-2. Today we will revisit some of the past historical moments before their match.
- Rudy Tomjanovich vs Dan Issel
The matches between Kentucky and Michigan between 1966 and 1970 featured excellent star power. Rupp’s Runts had handled Michigan in a seven-point Mideast Regional Final win, much due to the 29 points from Pat Riley. The teams had looked drastically different when they met two seasons later. Rudy Tomjanovish brought his – Game.
The six foot-8 forward had stolen the show scoring 17 points and corralled 27 rebounds. He had won the battle of the box score against Dan Issel but eventually lost the war. Israel scored 18 points and had 15 rebounds, and Mike Casey led all scorers to help the Wildcats to beat Michigan by a margin of 96-79.
The following year Michigan returned the favor in the UK. This Issel’s best efforts were needed to outduel Tomjanovich. Both he and Dennis Stewart scored 26 points. They handed a 112-104 defeat to Michigan.
- Rise of Fab Five in Mashburn Absence.
The duel between Chris Webber and the Monster Mash is one for time and ages. Webber scored 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Mashburn scored 26 in the Superdome. Mash burn had the foul with a little over three minutes remaining. Michigan had sunk from 23 of 30 free throws and eventually pulled off an 81-78 victory.
- Aaron Harrison Puts Kentucky into the final four.
Aaron Harrison helped Kentucky to defeat Michigan and put them in the final four. He hit 4 out of the six threes, with the last hit sealing the match.
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