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Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
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== Memorable teams == * '''The Wonder Team''': Despite coming off a losing season Coach Buchheit and Kentucky's first All-American Basil Hayden would help a complete turn around in the 1920β21 season. Kentucky finished the season 13β1 and tasted their first post season success by winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference title. * '''The Mauermen''': Coach John Mauer took over the program prior to the 1927β28 season, building a team that would go by the Mauermen. These Mauermen became well known for being well rounded and team oriented as well as having sound fundamentals. By the time John Mauer left after the 1930β31 season, he had compiled a 40β14 record at Kentucky (.740). However, Kentucky could not break through in the postseason during Mauer's tenure, and thus, did not win any Southern Conference titles from 1928 to 1930. * '''The Fabulous Five''': The 1947β48 team not only won the NCAA title, but provided the core of the United States 1948 Olympic team that won the gold medal in the London Games. A year later in the 1948β49 season, this nearly the same team would win back-to-back NCAA Championships, making Kentucky only the second team to repeat as NCAA Champions after Oklahoma A&M. * '''The 1951 Team''': The 1950β51 team, under the guidance of players such as Cliff Hagan and Bill Spivey, Kentucky would gain a record of 32β2, and 14β0 in the SEC. They would then go on to win Kentucky its 3rd title in only four years. * '''The Undefeated Team''': The 1953β54 team, which went 25β0 in the regular season and defeated LSU in a playoff to earn the Southeastern Conference bid to the NCAA tournament. However, several of the team's players had technically graduated during the 1952β53 season and were prohibited from tournament play the following year. Despite the wishes of the players, Rupp refused to allow the team to play in the tournament, thus leading to the team's reputation as one of the best teams ever to fail to win an NCAA title. * '''The Fiddlin' Five''': The 1957β58 team was given its nickname by Rupp due to his perception that they tended to "fiddle" early in games. However, they would right their ship in time to give Rupp his 4th and last national title. * '''Rupp's Runts''': The 1965β66 team, with no starter taller than 6'5", was arguably the most beloved in UK history. Despite its lack of size, it used devastating defensive pressure and a fast-paced offense to take a 27β1 record and top national ranking into the NCAA final against Texas Western. However, the Miners would deny Rupp another title. For more details on the game, see the articles for Rupp and the Miners' coach, Don Haskins. Future NBA coach and Hall-of Famer Pat Riley was a starter on this team. So was ABA and NBA star Louie Dampier. Both players were named All-Americans in 1966. Sportscaster Larry Conley was also a starter, along with Tom Kron and Thad Jaracz. All five starters were All-SEC selections in 1966. * '''The season without celebration''': Going into the 1977β78 season, the Wildcats faced perhaps the most suffocating expectations of any UK team. As freshmen, that year's senior class lost in the 1975 final to UCLA in John Wooden's final game as the Bruins' head coach. The seniors had an outstanding supporting cast, and most Kentucky fans would have accepted nothing less than a national title. Despite its successful run to the title, the team was widely criticized, especially by its own fans, for being too serious and focused, giving rise to the "season without celebration" moniker. Much of the criticism was directed at Head Coach Joe B. Hall, who felt under tremendous pressure from fans and boosters to win Kentucky's 5th championship, and did not let up in his quest. * '''The Unforgettables''': The 1991β92 team made up of mostly local players who had stayed behind after a scandal two years before is credited with reestablishing UK basketball in the 1990s. Despite a lack of a height they scrapped their way to a 29β7 record and SEC regular season and tournament championships. They played arguably the greatest college game ever played against Duke in the East Regional final 1991β92 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team * '''Mardi Gras Miracle''': Although the 1993β94 season would be quite a disappointment in terms of the NCAA tournament (only non-probation year Pitino failed to take the Cats to at least the Elite Eight), this season is best known for the Wildcats' 31-point comeback at LSU. Down 68β37 with less than sixteen minutes left in the game, Kentucky outscored LSU 62β27 to win 99β95 in one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA basketball history.<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup> * '''The Untouchables''': The 1995β96 team was arguably the most talented team in Kentucky basketball history, and quite possibly in NCAA history, with nine players who would eventually play in the NBA: ** [[Derek Anderson]] ** [[Tony Delk]] ** [[Walter McCarty]] ** [[Ron Mercer]] ** [[Nazr Mohammed]] ** [[Mark Pope]] ** [[Jeff Sheppard]] ** [[Wayne Turner]] ** [[Antoine Walker]] : This team became the first SEC team in 40 years to go through SEC regular season undefeated. Kentucky would repeat this feat in the 2002β03, 2011β12, and 2014β2015 seasons. After losing in the SEC Tournament final against Mississippi State, Kentucky would make a dominating run to the Final Four. They avenged an early-season loss to UMass in the NCAA National semifinals, and then defeated Syracuse in the NCAA Championship game to win their 6th championship. Many of the players on this great Kentucky team returned the following season. * '''The Unbelievables''': The 1996β97 team just missed repeating as NCAA Champions when they lost to Arizona in overtime in the NCAA Championship game. The nickname comes from the fact that early on in the season, very few UK fans (or the media) gave Kentucky much of a chance of repeating on the feats of the previous 1995β96 season. This nickname also gained in importance as the team only had 8 available players for the 1997 NCAA Tournament, which was largely due to injury, NBA draft picks, and transfers. * [[File:DeMarcus Cousins.jpg|thumb|332x332px|Demarcus "Boogie" Cousins]]'''The Comeback Cats''': The 1997β98 NCAA national champions. This was new head coach Tubby Smith's first year at Kentucky, and the team truly earned this nickname in their last three games. In the South Regional final against Duke, they gained some measure of payback for Kentucky's heartbreaking 1992 defeat to Duke, with UK coming back from a 17-point deficit with 9:38 remaining. In the national semifinal, they came back from a double-digit halftime deficit again, this time against Stanford. In the NCAA Finals against Utah, they became the first team to come back from a double-digit halftime deficit in an NCAA Finals Game. 1997β98 would be Kentucky's 7th championship. * '''The Draft Cats''': The 2009β10 team just missed the Final Four when they lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight. The name comes from the 2010 NBA draft when they set a record with five players being drafted from the same school in the first round. These players were: ** [[John Wall]] (1st selection) ** [[DeMarcus Cousins]] (5th) ** [[Patrick Patterson]] (14th) ** [[Eric Bledsoe]] (18th) ** [[Daniel Orton]] (29th). * '''The 8th Wonders''' The 2011β12 NCAA national champions, coached by head coach John Calipari, in his third year at Kentucky, earned this nickname due to their remarkable teamwork and overall quest for an NCAA Championship, and for being a team that started three freshman and two sophomores. For much of the season the team was ranked No. 1 in both the major polls, and also went undefeated in SEC regular season conference play (16β0). Kentucky stormed to the program's 8th NCAA tournament championship, winning their 6 NCAA Tournament games by an average of 10 points and never trailing in the second half. The team set an NCAA record with 38 wins in a season, and finished with a final ranking of No. 1 in both major polls. The team won Kentucky its 8th national championship with three one-and-done freshmen, and two sophomores that also declared for the NBA draft after the season. The team also set two new records for the NBA draft: the first time two players from the same school ever went as the first and second draft picks (No. 1 was Anthony Davis and No. 2 was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), and the most players taken in a single two-round draft (six players):[[File:Anthony Davis dunk.JPG|thumb|287x287px|Current NBA star Anthony Davis played one year for the Kentucky Wildcats. Davis helped lead the team to victory in the 2012 NCAA Championship.]] ** [[Anthony Davis]] ** [[Michael Kidd-Gilchrist]] ** [[Terrence Jones]] ** [[Marquis Teague]] ** [[Doron Lamb]] ** [[Darius Miller]] * '''The Tweakables''': This was the memorable 2013β14 team. After losing three of their last four regular season games the Wildcats were given little chance to accomplish much in the postseason. Prior to the SEC tournament, John Calipari announced that he had implemented a "tweak" to the team, which was later revealed to be encouraging Andrew Harrison to pass more. They defied their odds beating Louisiana State and Georgia to get to the finals for a rematch with the still top ranked Florida. Again defying odds they came one possession short of beating Florida. Despite this, Kentucky would receive an 8 seed in the Midwest, which included top seed and undefeated Wichita State, fourth seeded arch-rival and defending champion Louisville, second seeded Michigan, and third seeded Duke. Kentucky started their run by defeating Kansas State 56β49, setting them up with the Wichita State Shockers. In a shocking fashion Kentucky would defeat Wichita State by two points when Wichita missed its last shot (the second time in school history UK knocked off an undefeated team in the NCAA tournament; 1975 against Indiana was the other). Kentucky would then go on to beat instate rivals Louisville Cardinals in the Sweet Sixteen after Aaron Harrison hits a late three to put the Wildcats up 70β68 and hitting their last free throws to beat the defending champs. The next two games versus Michigan and Wisconsin would end in similar fashion with Aaron Harrison hitting late game threes to put the Wildcats in the Championship Game for the second time in three years. Marcus Lee would also have his break out game versus Michigan with four straight put-back dunks (and a total of ten points) and a block. Despite their run, they could not finish off Connecticut to win the title. This made them only the fifth 8 seed to make the Championship game. They are also one of the few teams that beat three out of the previous year's Final Four teams to get there (Wichita State, Louisville and Michigan). === Three point streak[edit] === The Wildcats had their streak of 1,047 consecutive non-exhibition games with at least one made three-point field goal end on March 15, 2018, in a 78β73 win over Davidson in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. Three other schools (Vanderbilt, UNLV and Princeton) have longer such streaks, having made at least one three-point field goal in every non-exhibition game since the three-point field goal first came to the college game.
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