The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Indiana coach Mike Davis said he wouldn't mind playing Kentucky on its home court in Rupp Arena in alternate years of their annual series.

"I would love that," he said Thursday. "To me, if you're going to be a good team, you've got to play good teams anywhere. I would be willing to do that."

The border rivals have played every year since 1969. Since 1987, the series has shifted, with a few exceptions, between the RCA Dome in Indianapolis and Freedom Hall in Louisville - with crowds evenly divided between Kentucky and Indiana fans.

Sixth-ranked Indiana (8-0) plays No. 18 Kentucky (5-2) in Freedom Hall today.

The Louisville venue has a seating capacity of 18,865, but Davis said he would favor playing in the larger Rupp Arena, which holds 23,000. His one stipulation is that tickets be split in half between the two schools.

"The numbers are really important for these games," Davis said.

Davis has developed a fondness for Rupp, less than a mile from Kentucky's campus in Lexington.

Last March, the Hoosiers upset Duke, then beat Kent State there to advance to the Final Four. Thousands of Indiana fans practically turned Rupp into a home court for the Hoosiers.

The RCA Dome holds more than 40,000 fans for basketball. In 1987, the Kentucky-Indiana game drew 43,601 fans. The game also drew more than 40,000 in 1989 and 1995.

"I don't think there's a better venue than the RCA Dome, because there are so many people in there," Davis said. "Freedom Hall is good, but I wish we could play in the RCA Dome every year, or go to Rupp Arena. Any time you get 24,000 or 30,000 people, that's a lot of people to cheer for a basketball game."

Davis said he has talked to Kentucky coach Tubby Smith about the idea.

Kentucky sports information director Brooks Downing said Friday that Indiana has approached Kentucky about a possible move, but he added Kentucky officials haven't discussed it.

"At this point, it's on a back burner," Downing said.

Michael McNeely resigned as Indiana's athletics director in November, and Downing said Kentucky will wait until a new AD is named to address the issue again.

Kentucky has played a game in Louisville every year since 1958 and boasts more than 30,000 alumni in the city.

"Louisville is a very important city to us. It's been a tradition to play games there and we will continue to do so, whether it's with Indiana or some other opponent," Downing said. "But the city takes a lot of pride in playing host to the Indiana game, because it is always such a nationally recognized game each year. It's also very important to our alumni."

But Downing wouldn't rule out moving to Rupp.

"Nothing's a deal-breaker," he said. "We're just sensitive to a number of issues surrounding why we play this game in Freedom Hall."