Kentucky Basketball: Top 30 Wildcats games in John Calipari Era

Sep 13, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Demarcus Cousins (15) and North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland (1) during the North Carolina and Kentucky Alumni Game at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

18. Win 2000

(09-10)

The Kentucky Wildcats were the first team to record 2000 total wins. It came in the 2009-10 season at the expense of the Drexel Dragons.

The University of Kentucky’s article about this win shows just how important this was to the program and fans.

"Kentucky’s 2,000th victory looked awfully familiar. DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson scored 18 points apiece and the third-ranked Wildcats became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-win plateau with an 88-44 romp over Drexel on Monday night. Kentucky improved to 2,000-635-1 in 107 seasons. North Carolina is next on the list with 1,992 wins while Kansas has 1,980. “We weren’t a part of many of those 2,000 wins and we had a job to do and that was drag us across the line before that other blue team got there,” coach John Calipari said. “This is a special moment for this program and this state.” The Wildcats did it in style, taking control early behind the play of Cousins, Patterson and superstar freshman John Wall to improve to 12-0. Samme Givens led Drexel (6-6) with 11 points, but the Dragons shot just 31 percent from the field and spent most of the game as invited guests to Kentucky’s celebration. The first win was an 11-10 squeaker over the Lexington YMCA on Feb. 18, 1903. It took Kentucky 66 years to reach 1,000 victories. Students celebrated the milestone with cake alongside legendary coach Adolph Rupp at Memorial Coliseum in 1969. This party was a little bigger. Confetti showered the court moments after the final buzzer while players donned black T-shirts commemorating the occasion. The Wildcats needed just 40 years to reach the next millennium, a ride that included three national titles and a recruiting scandal under former coach Eddie Sutton. The program was revived under Rick Pitino during the 1990s, and for the last few years Kentucky’s march toward 2,000 seemed to be a foregone conclusion. The lead over North Carolina eroded in recent years, particularly during the tumultuous tenure of former coach Billy Gillispie. The Tar Heels had roared into Kentucky’s rearview mirror, shaving 30 games off the lead in the last two seasons. Calipari has brought a renewed energy to the program, and while he had downplayed the significance of the milestone in recent weeks, he allowed on the eve of the game that reaching 2,000 before the Tar Heels and the Jayhawks was important because of the unusually strong bond between the program and state. “People have a pride in their Commonwealth’s team and it means something to them,” Calipari said. And with Rupp Arena abuzz with a festive atmosphere more fitting for New Year’s Eve than an otherwise ho-hum late-December game against an overmatched opponent, the Wildcats didn’t disappoint."

I didn’t know the whole history, like the win over the YMCA, the more you know, the more exciting it is.

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