Kentucky Basketball will be wearing throwback retro uniforms during its home game against Tennessee on Saturday night in Rupp Arena. The uniforms were originally announced on Christmas Day.
The Wildcats’ uniforms harken back to the 1995-1996 Kentucky basketball team. The white uniforms have ‘Kentucky’ in big font across the middle of the jersey with the number underneath. The white shorts have a large denim stripe on the sides that widens near the bottom, with an old-school UK basketball logo on the side.
Kentucky teased the uniforms on Thursday with a photo of the team on social media and the caption, “Starting to feel a little like ’96.”
The new threads are here. @nikebasketball x #GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/jxJ5ntvbII
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 6, 2026
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This will be the second matchup between the Vols and the Wildcats this season, and Tennessee is looking for a little revenge after the first contest in Knoxville. During the game on Jan. 17 in the Food City Center, Tennessee jumped out to a 16-point lead on its border rival in the first half. Kentucky began to make a run, though, closing the halftime deficit to just 11 points and eventually going on a run in the first part of the second half.
Kentucky kept closing the gap and took its first lead of the game with 34 seconds remaining in regulation. Tennessee’s final attempt at tying the game fell short in the final seconds, and Kentucky wound up taking the win. Tempers flared after the final buzzer with some pushing and shoving following some verbal jousting underneath the basket.
jaylen carey; otega oweh; kentucky vs tennessee pic.twitter.com/eo9BLtBeLv
— ◇ (@F0RGIAT0) January 17, 2026
That loss did wind up sparking something for the Vols, though. Since the loss, Tennessee has gone on a four-game win streak with victories at Alabama, at Georgia, against Auburn, and against Ole Miss. Kentucky, meanwhile, has gone 4-1 since that game. The Wildcats have wins over Texas, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, with only a loss to Vanderbilt during that stretch.
Tennessee is a point underdog heading into the game at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Rupp Arena. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game in Lexington.
