#1 – 1999 (11-0)
#2 – 1992 (8-3)
After NCAA won their title last year, they had cut UK’s lead in national titles to two and their lead in the all time wins column to a mere four games. Then on April 1, John Calipari was hired to stop the bleeding. The national titles are to come later, but I think Calipari’s immediate goal was to stop the bleeding in the all time wins numbers. And when you look back, you appreciate the job Cal has done. He has transformed a NIT bound team into an 11-0 juggernaut that is ranked #3 in the country. The all time wins lead has almost doubled from a four game lead to the present seven game bulge. UK took care of business in their only game this week by pasting the Austin Peay Governors 90-69 for that 1999th win.
You have to give the Tar Heels credit for the early season aggressive scheduling, but the Heels have lost three of those big time matchups. Their only game this week resulted in a 103-90 drubbing at the hands of the #2 Texas Longhorns in front of 38,000+ at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
THIS WEEK: Kentucky should end the race to 2000 on Monday as the Drexel Dragons invade Rupp Arena. Then on Wednesday at the odd time of 1 PM, the Wildcats get a visit from the 6-4 Long Beach State 49ers. The Tar Heels have just one game on the docket this week, on Tuesday vs the 9-1 Marshall Thundering Herd. While the Herd has an impressive record, their schedule has been a diabetic overdose schedule with all the cupcakes. They have not played a team near the quality of the Tar Heels.
FORECAST: UK should continue their roll and have no problem with the Dragons. The Dragons are one of the worst shooting teams in the country and they have nowhere near the size to compete. In the pre-season, Coach Cal tried to talk up Long Beach State as a tough game. The 49ers have undertaken a murders row schedule of big names this season and UK will be their 4th ranked team this season. This could be a trap game with a Christmas Break on looming, the fact UK has win 2000 under their belt and possibly looking ahead to Louisville on January 2. Couple that with the 1PM start time and this game could scream upset. I don’t think it will happen, but this game makes me kind of nervous as the 49ers will be fearless.
UNC should have no trouble with Marshall, despite their gaudy record and now we reach a part in the UNC schedule where they may go a long time before losing again.
Look for Kentucky to gain another game this week due to the schedule. I would not get too excited as there are a couple of weeks in January where UK has just one game and UNC two, so the game picked up this week will be given back soon. On next Monday morning, this column will have a different look and I will include the top 5 all time teams numbers as the race to 2000 will be over. At that time, the win totals will look like this: Kentucky 2001, UNC 1993. In case you are looking ahead, the Cat’s first shot at 2000 will be Monday Night, December 21, @ Rupp versus Drexel and yes, that game will be televised on ESPN-U.
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