by Corey Price
With 4 home games left on the schedule, the Wildcats are currently 14-0 at Rupp Arena this season. The remaining 4 opponents to venture into Rupp are Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida. I don’t think it’s too early to think about this year’s team going unbeaten at home this season. And that got me to thinking about what other seasons UK has gone unbeaten at Rupp Arena. Since Rupp Arena opened for the 1976-1977 season, the Wildcats have gone unbeaten at home in 8 different seasons. I will give a statistical breakdown of the wins at home in those unbeaten seasons and provide how the season ended for those teams:
1977-1978
- 16-0 At Home
- Finished 30-2
- Head Coach: Joe B. Hall
- SEC Regular Season Champions
- #1 In Final AP Poll, #1 In Final UPI Poll
- Participated In The Mideast Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Defeated Duke 94-88 In NCAA Tournament Final
- Average Margin Of Victory: 20.1
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 16.4
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 24.9
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): N/A (Didn’t Play Any Ranked Teams At Home)
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 20.1
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 16-0
- Record vs. SEC: 9-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 7-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 39 Points (#1 Kentucky – 104 Iona – 65) (12/23/1977)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 2 Points (#3 Kentucky – 58 Mississippi State – 56) (2/18/1978)
1980-1981
- 15-0 At Home
- Finished 22-6
- Head Coach: Joe B. Hall
- #8 In Final AP Poll, #8 In Final UPI Poll
- #2 Seed In Mideast Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Lost To #7 Seed UAB 69-62 In NCAA Tournament Second Round
- Average Margin Of Victory: 18.4
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 18
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 19
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 3
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 22.3
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 3-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 12-0
- Record vs. SEC: 9-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 6-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 54 Points (#6 Kentucky – 102 Florida – 48) (1/21/1981)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 1 Point (#4 Kentucky – 48 #13 Tennessee – 47) (1/10/1981)
1983-1984
- 16-0 At Home
- Finished 29-5
- Head Coach: Joe B. Hall
- SEC Regular Season Champions, SEC Tournament Champions
- #3 In Final AP Poll, #3 In Final UPI Poll, #3 In Final CNN/USA Today Poll
- #1 Seed In Mideast Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Lost To #1 Seed Georgetown 53-40 In NCAA Tournament Semifinals
- Average Margin Of Victory: 15.4
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 16.2
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 14.4
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 15
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 15.6
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 5-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 11-0
- Record vs. SEC: 9-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 7-0 (Includes 2 Games In The NCAA Tournament)
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 34 Points (#2 Kentucky – 93 Brigham Young – 59) (12/17/1983) (UKIT)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 2 Points (#6 Kentucky – 67 Florida – 65) (2/13/1984)
1985-1986
- 18-0 At Home
- Finished 32-4
- Head Coach: Eddie Sutton
- SEC Regular Season Champions, SEC Tournament Champions
- #3 In Final AP Poll, #4 In Final UPI Poll, #4 In Final CNN/USA Today Poll
- #1 Seed In The Southeast Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Lost To #11 Seed LSU 59-57 In NCAA Tournament Regional Finals
- Average Margin Of Victory: 16.3
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 14.1
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 20.8
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 5
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 17.8
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 2-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 16-0
- Record vs. SEC: 12-0 (Includes 3 Games In The SEC Tournament)
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 6-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 34 Points (#13 Kentucky – 86 East Carolina – 52) (12/20/1985) (UKIT)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 3 Points (#3 Kentucky – 61 Louisiana State – 58) (3/7/1986) (SEC Tournament)
1990-1991
- 13-0 At Home
- Finished 22-6
- Head Coach: Rick Pitino
- #9 In Final AP Poll
- Couldn’t Participate In The NCAA Tournament (Probation)
- Average Margin Of Victory: 14.5
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 13.1
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 17.5
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 9.5
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 15.4
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 2-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 11-0
- Record vs. SEC: 9-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 4-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 23 Points (Kentucky – 85 Pennsylvania – 62) (11/24/1990)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 6 Points (#12 Kentucky – 79 #24 Alabama – 73) (2/26/1991)
1992-1993
- 16-0 At Home
- Finished 30-4
- Head Coach: Rick Pitino
- SEC Tournament Champions
- #2 In Final AP Poll, #4 In Final CNN/USA Today Poll
- #1 Seed In Southeast Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Lost To #1 Seed Michigan 81-78 (OT) In NCAA Tournament Semifinals
- Average Margin Of Victory: 20.9
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 22
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 18.6
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 11.7
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 23.1
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 3-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 13-0
- Record vs. SEC: 11-0 (Includes 3 Games In The SEC Tournament)
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 5-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 61 Points (#4 Kentucky – 101 Tennessee – 40) (3/12/1993) (SEC Tournament)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 2 Points (#2 Kentucky – 60 Auburn – 58) (2/27/1993)
1995-1996
- 13-0 At Home
- Finished 34-2
- Head Coach: Rick Pitino
- SEC Regular Season Champions
- #2 In Final AP Poll, #2 In Final CNN/USA Today Poll
- #1 Seed In Midwest Region Of The NCAA Tournament Defeated #4 Seed Syracuse 76-67 In The NCAA Tournament Finals
- Average Margin Of Victory: 26.5
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 22.3
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 33.2
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 23 Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 27.1
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 2-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 11-0
- Record vs. SEC: 8-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 5-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 64 Points (#5 Kentucky – 96 Morehead State – 32) (12/16/1995)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 12 Points (#5 Kentucky – 74 Wisconsin-Green Bay – 62) (12/6/1995)
1999-2000
- 14-0 At Home
- Finished 23-10
- Head Coach: Tubby Smith
- SEC Regular Season Champions
- #19 In Final AP Poll
- #5 Seed In Midwest Region Of The NCAA Tournament
- Lost To #4 Seed Syracuse 52-50 In The Second Round
- Average Margin Of Victory: 15.1
- Average Margin Of Victory (SEC): 11.1
- Average Margin Of Victory (Non-Conference): 20.3
- Average Margin Of Victory (Ranked Opponents): 9.5
- Average Margin Of Victory (Unranked Opponents): 17.3
- Record vs. Ranked Opponents: 4-0
- Record vs. Unranked Opponents: 10-0
- Record vs. SEC: 8-0
- Record vs. Non-Conference: 6-0
- Largest Margin Of Victory: 45 Points (#23 UK – 86 UNC–Asheville – 41) (12/7/1999)
- Smallest Margin Of Victory: 2 Points (UK – 60 #5 Michigan State – 58) (12/23/1999)
It’s obvious to see that the 1995-1996 team was the most dominant of the 8 teams to go unbeaten at Rupp Arena, as they were probably the most dominant team in UK’s history. And, as you can see, an unbeaten home record usually correlates to a success in the NCAA Tournament, with 5 of the 7 teams that could participate in the NCAA Tournament reaching at least the Elite Eight. Hopefully this season’s team can follow in their footsteps.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans