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Inside The Numbers: UK as a 1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament

ByCorey Price

The picture above is from the 1980 NCAA Tournament between Kentucky and Florida State. That game was the first time that UK had been a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, 30 years ago. This past Sunday, UK was rewarded with their 10th 1 seed all-time, 3rd most behind North Carolina’s 13 and Duke’s 11. I have done some research on UK’s first 9 NCAA Tournaments in which they were a 1 seed and here’s what I found:

First off, let me inform you of the 9 NCAA Tournaments in which UK was a 1 seed: 1980, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, and 2004.

NCAA Tournament Results
1980: 1 Seed in the Mideast (now South) Region, lost to 4 Seed Duke 55-54 in the regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)
1984: 1 Seed in the Mideast (now South) Region, lost to 1 Seed Georgetown 53-40 in the national semifinals (Final Four)
1986: 1 Seed in the Southeast (now South) Region, lost to 11 Seed LSU 59-57 in the regional finals (Elite Eight)
1993: 1 Seed in the Southeast (now South) Region, lost to 1 Seed Michigan 81-78 (overtime) in the national semifinals (Final Four)
1995: 1 Seed in the Southeast (now South) Region, lost to 2 Seed North Carolina 74-61 in the regional finals (Elite Eight)
1996: 1 Seed in the Midwest Region, defeated 4 Seed Syracuse 76-67 in the national championship game
1997: 1 Seed in the West Region, lost to 4 Seed Arizona 84-79 (overtime) in the national championship game
2003: 1 Seed in the Midwest Region, lost to 3 Seed Marquette 83-69 in the regional finals (Elite Eight)
2004: 1 Seed in the St. Louis (Midwest) Region, lost to 9 Seed UAB 76-75 in the regional 2nd round

Overall Record As A 1 Seed: 29-8 (.784)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Decade
1980’s: 7-3 (.700)
1990’s: 18-3 (.857)
2000’s: 4-2 (.667)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Coach
Joe B. Hall: 4-2 (.667)
Eddie Sutton: 3-1 (.750)
Rick Pitino: 18-3 (.857)
Tubby Smith: 4-2 (.667)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed vs. Other Seeds (Kentucky’s Seed Listed First)
1 Seed vs. 1 Seed: 2-2 (.500)
1 Seed vs. 2 Seed: 3-1 (.750)
1 Seed vs. 3 Seed: 1-1 (.500)
1 Seed vs. 4 Seed: 3-2 (.600)
1 Seed vs. 5 Seed: 5-0 (1.000)
1 Seed vs. 8 Seed: 5-0 (1.000)
1 Seed vs. 9 Seed: 3-1 (.750)
1 Seed vs. 11 Seed: 0-1 (.000)
1 Seed vs. 16 Seed: 7-0 (1.000)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Round
1st Round: 7-0 (1.000)
2nd Round: 8-1 (.889)
Sweet Sixteen: 7-1 (.875)
Elite Eight: 4-3 (.571)
Final Four: 2-2 (.500)
Championship Game: 1-1 (.500)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Region (The Name The Region Currently Has)
Midwest Region: 10-2 (.833)
South Region: 14-5 (.737)
West Region: 5-1 (.833)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By State (State In Which The Game Was Played In)
Alabama: 2-1 (.667)
California: 2-0 (1.000)
Georgia: 1-1 (.500)
Indiana: 1-1 (.500)
Kentucky: 3-1 (.750)
Louisiana: 0-1 (.000)
Minnesota: 3-1 (.750)
New Jersey: 2-0 (1.000)
North Carolina: 4-0 (1.000)
Ohio: 1-1 (.500)
Tennessee: 6-0 (1.000)
Texas: 2-0 (1.000)
Utah: 2-0 (1.000)
Washington: 0-1 (.000)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Conference (Conference In Which The Team Is Currently In)
ACC: 5-2 (.714)
Atlantic 10: 2-0 (1.000)
Big East: 2-2 (.500)
Big Ten: 4-1 (.800)
C-USA: 1-1 (.500)
MWC: 5-0 (1.000)
Pac-10: 1-1 (.500)
SEC: 1-1 (.500)
“Power 6” Conferences: 13-7 (.650)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed Against Teams They’ve Played More Than Once
Florida State: 2-0 (1.000)
Utah: 4-0 (1.000)
Wake Forest: 2-0 (1.000)

Kentucky’s Record As A 1 Seed By Date
March 9th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 13th: 1-1 (.500)
March 14th: 2-0 (1.000)
March 15th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 16th: 3-0 (1.000)
March 17th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 18th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 19th: 2-0 (1.000)
March 20th: 2-0 (1.000)
March 21st: 3-1 (.750)
March 22nd: 2-1 (.667)
March 23rd: 3-0 (1.000)
March 24th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 25th: 1-1 (.500)
March 27th: 2-0 (1.000)
March 29th: 1-1 (.500)
March 30th: 1-0 (1.000)
March 31st: 0-2 (.000)
April 1st: 1-0 (1.000)
April 3rd: 0-1 (.000)

Kentucky’s 1 Seed vs. 1 Seed Matchups
1984 Final Four: Kentucky – 40 Georgetown – 53
1993 Final Four: Kentucky – 78 Michigan – 81 (Overtime)
1996 Final Four: Kentucky – 81 Massachusetts – 74
1997 Final Four: Kentucky – 78 Minnesota – 69

Kentucky Being “Upset” As A 1 Seed
1980 Regional Semifinals: (1) Kentucky – 54 (4) Duke – 55
1986 Regional Finals: (1) Kentucky – 57 (11) LSU – 59
1995 Regional Finals: (1) Kentucky – 61 (2) North Carolina – 74
1997 National Championship Game: (1) Kentucky – 79 (4) Arizona – 84 (Overtime)
2003 Regional Finals: (1) Kentucky – 69 (3) Marquette – 83
2004 Regional 2nd Round: (1) Kentucky – 75 (9) UAB – 76

Kentucky Against Ranked Teams As A 1 Seed: 14-6 (.700)
Kentucky Against Unranked Teams As A 1 Seed: 15-2 (.882)

Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans

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