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2011 uk basketball roster5/27/2023 ![]() ![]() The competing interests of the NCAA Tournament and the NIT in crowing a champion and the eventual integration of UK's rosters makes comparing the early Kentucky greats to its more modern teams a challenge. The 71 points Wisconsin scored in the Final Four loss were the third-most the Wildcats surrendered all year in a season that saw Kentucky hold 15 opponents below 50 points. This team's depth and defense made it one of the best in school history as it allowed just 54.3 points per game. But even after losing 71-64 to the Badgers and having their magical season cut short, this UK team still comes in ahead of some Kentucky squads that won national titles. The Wildcats entered a Final Four contest against Wisconsin 38-0 and having held the No. 2014-15 (Final Four)Ī Kentucky team whose leading scorer averaged just 11 points came within two games of completing arguably the greatest season in college basketball history. Kentucky avenged that loss in the Sweet 16 on its way to the program's eighth title. Their only regular-season loss was a one-point road defeat against Indiana. The Wildcats lost to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament title game after beating the Commodores twice during the regular season. ![]() Much like the 1995-96 team, the 2011-12 team's only losses came against teams it also beat. Led by freshman phenom Anthony Davis, the Wildcats allowed fewer points per game than any other Kentucky team since the introduction of the 3-point line until the 2014-15 team later broke that record. Still, there's no doubt the 2011-12 team is one of the greatest in UK history. There are striking similarities between the 2012 championship team and the 1996 team, but Pitino's squad gets the edge on Calipari's lone title-winner because of how deep it was. Thirteen years later, the coach of that UMass team, John Calipari, would become Kentucky's coach. Kentucky avenged that defeat in the Final Four by winning the second meeting 81-74. UK's only other loss came against UMass in the second game of the season. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament locked up, that loss was of little significance. The Wildcats throttled Mississippi State on the road in the regular season before losing to the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. The team's only losses came against opponents it also beat. The Wildcats finished 34-2 (16-0 SEC) and cruised through the NCAA Tournament with a 21.5-point average margin of victory. 5 in the AP Top 25 as it snapped an 18-year national title drought. Led by a deep cast of future NBA players including Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson and Walter McCarty, Kentucky started the season ranked No. Whittling it down to just eight was a challenge, but here is the rundown of the best Kentucky basketball seasons of all time. Are they more deserving of inclusion in such a ranking than some of the less-heralded title teams? So of all the success the Wildcats have experienced over the last 75-plus years, which eight seasons were their best? The simple answer is that it was the eight national title teams, but there are several historic Kentucky squads that came up short of cutting down the nets. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and, of course, John Calipari.īilly Gillespie and Eddie Sutton are the only Kentucky coaches since the Great Depression who didn't win a national title during their tenures - a fact that speaks to the tradition and resources of the program. Since then, Kentucky's five additional titles have come under five coaches, starting with Rupp's last championship in 1958 and stretching back through the tenures of Joe B. The Wildcats have won it all eight times, starting with fabled coach Adolph Rupp's run of three titles in four years from 1948 to 1951. ![]() Kentucky trails only UCLA in college basketball lore, at least when it comes to most national titles won.
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