Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball

NCAA Division I team of the University of Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team. The team plays for the University of Kentucky. The team plays in Division I of the NCAA. As of 2023, Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball team. The team has the highest percentage of wins in NCAA Division I.[2]

Kentucky Wildcats
UniversityUniversity of Kentucky
First season1903
Athletic directorMitch Barnhart
Head coachJohn Calipari (13th season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationLexington, Kentucky
ArenaRupp Arena at Central Bank Center
(Capacity: 20,545)
NicknameWildcats
Student sectioneRUPPtion Zone
ColorsBlue and White[1]
         
Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta Champions
1934
Pre-tournament Helms Champions
1933
NCAA Tournament Champions
1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012
NCAA Tournament Runner-up
1966, 1975, 1997, 2014
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1942, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1966, 1975, 1978, 1984, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1942, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988*, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1942, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988*, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament Champions
1921, 1933, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Conference Regular Season Champions
1926, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020
*vacated by NCAA

National championships

change

The following is a list of Kentucky's 8 National Championships:

Year Coach Opponent Score Record
1948 Adolph Rupp Baylor 58–42 36–3
1949 Adolph Rupp Oklahoma State 46–36 32–2
1951 Adolph Rupp Kansas State 68–58 32–2
1958 Adolph Rupp Seattle 84–72 23–6
1978 Joe B. Hall Duke 94–88 30–2
1996 Rick Pitino Syracuse 76–67 34–2
1998 Tubby Smith Utah 78–69 35–4
2012 John Calipari Kansas 67–59 38–2
National Championships 8

References

change
  1. Primary Color Palette (PDF). February 5, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. "2022-23 DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL RECORDS, Page 72" (PDF).