Kentucky Wildcats all-time round-by-round NCAA Tournament record

It’s been a tough stretch for John Calipari and Kentucky. The Wildcats were just bounced in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament as the conference’s No. 2 seed and haven’t won the league since 2018. On top of the SEC Tournament disappointments, the Cats have struggled in the NCAA Tournament. 

In 2021, UK missed the tournament altogether with an abysmal 9-16 record. A year later, Oscar Tshiebwe carried Kentucky to a No. 2 seed, but St. Peter’s pulled off the first-round upset. Then, last season, Kentucky lost in the Round of 32, and with the 2020 pandemic, all of a sudden it’s been five years since Coach Cal has seen the second weekend. 

Despite those recent woes, Kentucky is still one of the most successful programs in college basketball history, and that shows up in the March Madness all-time record. This year, the Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the South Region.

Kentucky all-time NCAA Tournament record

Seven different coaches have taken the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament a total of 61 times and have 17 Final Fours and eight national titles to show for it. 

This season, the Cats kick off the tournament against Oakland, the Horizon League champs, and have a potential second-round matchup with Texas Tech or NC State. How far will they go? Well, let’s check out Kentucky’s historical round-by-round record for a bit of help answering that question. 

Here’s how the Wildcats have fared in their 32 appearances since the tournament expanded in 1985. 

• Round of 64: 29-3
• Round of 32: 22-7
• Sweet 16: 17-5
• Elite Eight: 8-9
• Final Four: 5-3
• National Championship: 3-2
• Overall: 84-29