One-of-a-Kind

College Basketball has numerous historic arenas and gymnasiums, some of the most well-known are Cameron Indoor (Duke), Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler), Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas), and our very own Rupp Arena. One venue in Men’s CBB however is one of the most unique in all of sports. Built in 1952 on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, Memorial Gymnasium seats 14,316 and has a one-of-a-kind design. With an elevated court, a theater-style seating arrangement, and benches placed on the endzone instead of the sideline, Memorial Gymnasium provides a distinct home-court advantage that some call “Memorial Magic” You’ll be sure to hear about the uniqueness at least 2 dozen times during any television broadcast.

Road Success For The Cats against Vanderbilt in Nashville

Kentucky has had a lot of success in the SEC, both at home and on the road. Memorial is no exception as UK is 52-27 all-time when playing at Vandy. Over the years, plenty of exciting matchups have seen Kentucky create its own Memorial Magic. Here are a few of my favorite moments.

Surprise Buzzer Beater

January 27, 1998, First-year coach Tubby Smith has the Wildcats rolling, as they come into Memorial ranked 7th with an 18-2 record. Like many played between these two in Nashville, the game was close throughout. With 4.4 seconds remaining Vanderbilts Drew Maddux nails a 3 to tie the game at 61. After a timeout by UK, Nazr Mohammed, the most unlikely player on the floor to take a game-winning shot, tosses up a prayer as time expires to give the Wildcats a 63-61 victory.

Do The John Wall

After the failed experiment of Billy Gillispie (A name no UK fan likes to mention) Kentucky has appeared to hit a home run with new hire John Calipari. Coach Cal has his first of many star-studded freshmen-led teams, including future NBA All-Stars John Wall and Demarcus Cousins. Kentucky is 25-1, with a #2 ranking, and had become the first program with 2000 wins earlier in the season. on 2/20/2010 a sold-out crowd with free t-shirts and a super-bowl-like environment greeted Kentucky in Nashville. As with most games, Wall and Cousins would lead the way for the Cats scoring a combined 32 points, 19 from Cousins and 13 from Wall, with the final 2 points being game-winning free throws from John Wall. Wall blocked a field goal attempt from John Jenkins and after securing the ball was fouled with 2.5 to go. Wall would hit both FTs and Kentucky held on to win 58-56.

What are some of your favorite memories at Memorial?

Will tomorrow’s game be another classic? Tip-off is set for 2:30 PM EST on ESPN