UCLA is encouraging fans to wear gold for Thursday night’s men’s basketball game against top-ranked Kentucky, the Wildcats’ first appearance in Pauley Pavilion.
All fans in attendance will receive a gold T-shirt in connection with Pauley Pavilion’s 50th anniversary to facilitate what is being dubbed a “Gold Out.”
The game is being played on the 50th anniversary of the Bruins’ first official game at Pauley Pavilion, a 92-66 victory over Ohio State. UCLA won its first 49 official games at Pauley Pavilion before a 46-44 loss to USC on March 8, 1969.
The first time the Bruins varsity team played at Pauley Pavilion was on Nov. 27, 1965 when the two-time defending NCAA champions lost 75-60 to its freshman team led by Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
UCLA last faced Kentucky in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, 1959, as part of a doubleheader at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, with the John Wooden- coached Bruins losing to an all-white Wildcats team coached by Adoph Rupp, 68- 66. Wooden and Rupp combined to win 14 NCAA championships.
The game matches two of college basketball’s most storied programs.
UCLA has won a record 11 NCAA men’s basketball championships, while Kentucky is second with eight. The Bruins have reached the Final Four 18 times, tying North Carolina for first, while the Wildcats are third with 17.
Kentucky has made a record 55 NCAA tournament appearances, while UCLA has made 45, third all-time.
The game is the start of a home-and-home series. The Bruins will play at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, for the first time on Dec. 3, 2016.
The Wildcats lead the series 7-4, including an 83-44 victory in the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago on Dec. 20, 2014 when Kentucky scored the first 24 points and led 41-7 at halftime.
“Last year was an outlier,” Wildcats coach John Calipari said. “I had a ridiculous team. And they would go into a game like that to smoke somebody. They would go in with that mentality. This team is, we don’t have that mentality.”
Kentucky (7-0) has won 38 consecutive regular-season games. The Bruins are 4-3.
Fewer than 500 tickets remained as of Wednesday afternoon, according to UCLA Associate Sports Information Director Alex Timiraos.