A couple lists of our best comebacks

[CapnBlubs]

For much of this, credit goes to Jon Scott for his great UK statistics page. I also tried to look up play-by-play lists or articles for games that were available because his site specifically (from what I could see) has a list of biggest halftime deficits (which, by the way, is a tie between the 1994 LSU game and the 2004 Louisville game at 16 points).

Because this information can be difficult to find and sort properly, I wouldn't be surprised if I made an error or two...so let me know if I did.

Biggest deficit in an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points in the second half
2) at Vanderbilt (1997) - 22 points in the first half
tie-3) vs Vanderbilt (2017) - 19 points in the first half, 13 in the second half
tie-3) vs Florida (1994) - 19 points in the first half, 10 at halftime
tie-3) vs Arkansas (1995 SEC Championship) - 19 points in the first half
tie-6) at Florida (2020) - 18 points in the second half
tie-6) vs Duke (1998 Elite 8) - 18 points in the first half (and then 17 in the second)
tie-6) vs Arkansas (2006) - 18 points in the first half, 12 at halftime
9) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points (in both the first and second halves)
10) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points at halftime
(and then lots of games where we trailed by 15 or fewer at some point)

Biggest road deficit in the second half of an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points
2) at Florida (2020) - 18 points
3) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points
4) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points

Again, this is based on what I was able to find so far. It may be incomplete.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

So 2nd greatest 2nd half comeback on the road in UK history....

And 26 years since the biggest.....

Deal with it haters.

 

[Smashcat]

Good stuff

 

[ScrooDook92]

So 2nd greatest 2nd half comeback on the road in UK history....

And 26 years since the biggest.....

Deal with it haters.

I don't see anyone hating. I for one appreciate Scott's site. That's dedication.

 

[CapnBlubs]

I don't see anyone hating. I for one appreciate Scott's site. That's dedication.

It certainly is dedication, and as a stat and UK nerd (although not on Jon's level), I've appreciated his site for years.

 

[awf]

Be still my trembling heart........

 

[uky8unc5]

I told my son last night: "This one goes into our history book as top 5 greatest comebacks."

It was a guess, but it sure felt that way when the buzzer sounded.

 

[CapnBlubs]

I told my son last night: "This one goes into our history book as top 5 greatest comebacks."

It was a guess, but it sure felt that way when the buzzer sounded.

My wife and I have randomly said to each other about 20 times already "I still can't believe we won that game."

Circumstances were about as difficult as possible. Team in turmoil, missing the best defender all game, best scorer fouled out, one man bench.

Put the whole thing together with duct tape. It was nuts.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I don't see anyone hating. I for one appreciate Scott's site. That's dedication.

Thats just it. You only “see” the haters when UK loses but don't act like there not out lurking in the weeds of despair when we win.
Bwah ha ha ha ha!!!!

 

[ALL4UK]

Yesterday’s game was great and the LSU 31 pt comeback was amazing, but my favorite was 1998 Elite 8 comeback against Duke.

 

[musrat59]

I will be honest, when we got behind by 18 points, I thought we lose this game.

 

[ubtrapper]

My wife and I have randomly said to each other about 20 times already "I still can't believe we won that game."

Circumstances were about as difficult as possible. Team in turmoil, missing the best defender all game, best scorer fouled out, one man bench.

Put the whole thing together with duct tape. It was nuts.

Yes. The circumstances are what make this comeback as special as any for me.

Hagans out, Quickley fouls out with 9 mins to go, Maxey goes
1-11, Nick is 1-7 in the 1st half, 2 technicals against us, playing @ FLA and Doug Shows is one of the refs. Lol

Absolutely incredible achievement for our team! That's what fight and toughness will get you!

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I will be honest, when we got behind by 18 points, I thought we lose this game.

I think if most if not all of us are being honest once down 18 with just 11 minutes left is was simply hoping to make it respectable.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Yes. The circumstances are what make this comeback as special as any for me.

Hagans out, Quickley fouls out with 9 mins to go, Maxey goes
1-11, Nick is 1-7 in the 1st half, 2 technicals against us, playing @ FLA and Doug Shows is one of the refs. Lol

Absolutely incredible achievement for our team! That's what fight and toughness will get you!

And making shots!

 

[preacher_tom]

 

[uky8unc5]

I think if most if not all of us are being honest once down 18 with just 11 minutes left is was simply hoping to make it respectable.

At 11 min, I was close but not fully there.

I thought: if we cut it under 10 by the 8 min timeout, we had a slim chance.
Greatest Obstacle: you gotta hit 3 point shots.

And out of nowhere...boom it happened.
Yes I was shocked!

 

[ORCAT10]

For much of this, credit goes to Jon Scott for his great UK statistics page. I also tried to look up play-by-play lists or articles for games that were available because his site specifically (from what I could see) has a list of biggest halftime deficits (which, by the way, is a tie between the 1994 LSU game and the 2004 Louisville game at 16 points).

Because this information can be difficult to find and sort properly, I wouldn't be surprised if I made an error or two...so let me know if I did.

Biggest deficit in an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points in the second half
tie-2) vs Vanderbilt (2017) - 19 points in the first half, 13 in the second half
tie-2) vs Florida (1994) - 19 points in the first half, 10 at halftime
tie-4) at Florida (2020) - 18 points in the second half
tie-4) vs Duke (1998 Elite 8) - 18 points in the first half (and then 17 in the second)
tie-4) vs Arkansas (2006) - 18 points in the first half, 12 at halftime
7) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points (in both the first and second halves)
8) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points at halftime
(and then lots of games where we trailed by 15 or fewer at some point)

Biggest road deficit in the second half of an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points
2) at Florida (2020) - 18 points
3) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points
4) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points

Again, this is based on what I was able to find so far. It may be incomplete.

Great work. Thanks. Mardi Gras miracle was unbelievable. Duke in 98 though is my personal favorite.

 

[NCPurplecat]

The Duke comeback was to get to Final Four and it was the most important game and most watched. As most meaningful comeback that would win. Great list. On the blew a lead in prior game, got it back in this one.. Florida game yesterday wins the roller coaster award.

 

[ALL4UK]

Another amazing statistic that has always stood out to me about our second half run against Duke (98) was us scoring 16 points in 5 trips across half court. H. Evans hit a 3, Padgett hit a 3, Turner had an and-1, Edwards hit a 3, Shepherd hit 2 FT on a Flagrant Foul followed by Turner with another 2. That was fun to watch.

 

[Bkocats]

I think if most if not all of us are being honest once down 18 with just 11 minutes left is was simply hoping to make it respectable.

Agreed
Not believing we would win that game was not the same as giving up, contrary to what some believe.
The odds were stacked against us big time

 

[jpbky2]

As a long time Kentucky fan, yesterday was sweet. The adversity, coupled with the comeback, on tope of being in a harsh road environment was incredible. It definitely helped put the Tennessee defeat to bed quicker than I thought. I know you are going by number of points comebacks, but I told my kids last night the Kansas comeback in 1978. Down 6 with 30 seconds to go to win 67-66 without the 3 point shot was amazing as well.

 

[ScrooDook92]

It certainly is dedication, and as a stat and UK nerd (although not on Jon's level), I've appreciated his site for years.

I've always liked stats, but there is no way I can claim to be a stats freak like these guys do.

 

[ScrooDook92]

Thats just it. You only “see” the haters when UK loses but don't act like there not out lurking in the weeds of despair when we win.
Bwah ha ha ha ha!!!!

I don't understand what you mean by hater. Passionate fans who have short tempers and don't do a great job facing adversity, yes.

 

[ganner918]

@JPScott you know of any games to add?

 

[NothinButNylon]

At 11 min, I was close but not fully there.

I thought: if we cut it under 10 by the 8 min timeout, we had a slim chance.
Greatest Obstacle: you gotta hit 3 point shots.

And out of nowhere...boom it happened.
Yes I was shocked!

This is exactly what I told my wife! And I'll be dang if it didn't happen!! To say that I was very excited is an understatement.

 

[UKFlounder]

Don’t forget the Arkansas game in the 1995 SEC tourney finals. We were down 19 in the first half, then by 9 in overtime. (The OT comeback may hav3 bern tougher.)

 

[CapnBlubs]

@JPScott you know of any games to add?

I'm not Jon (sorry) but one thing I'm fairly certain of is that if we DO find any other games to add, they won't be anything more than 21 point deficits. Because this is the NCAA's list of 22+ and our LSU comeback from 31 down is the only one on it:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal.../40-biggest-comebacks-ncaa-basketball-history

 

[CapnBlubs]

Don’t forget the Arkansas game in the 1995 SEC tourney finals. We were down 19 in the first half, then by 9 in overtime. (The OT comeback may hav3 bern tougher.)

Thanks! I've added it to the first (overall) list.

 

[coolioo1]

I would rank in amazing comebacks:
#1 LSU down 31
#2 Duke in Elite 8 given it was Elite 8 against Duke

 

[uky8unc5]

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal.../40-biggest-comebacks-ncaa-basketball-history

On that list, the 3 comebacks that happened BEFORE 1986 are most impressive.

Why? 1986 was the year the NCAA added the 3-point line.

 

[lakercat]

For much of this, credit goes to Jon Scott for his great UK statistics page. I also tried to look up play-by-play lists or articles for games that were available because his site specifically (from what I could see) has a list of biggest halftime deficits (which, by the way, is a tie between the 1994 LSU game and the 2004 Louisville game at 16 points).

Because this information can be difficult to find and sort properly, I wouldn't be surprised if I made an error or two...so let me know if I did.

Biggest deficit in an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points in the second half
tie-2) vs Vanderbilt (2017) - 19 points in the first half, 13 in the second half
tie-2) vs Florida (1994) - 19 points in the first half, 10 at halftime
tie-2) vs Arkansas (1995 SEC Championship) - 19 points in the first half
tie-5) at Florida (2020) - 18 points in the second half
tie-5) vs Duke (1998 Elite 8) - 18 points in the first half (and then 17 in the second)
tie-5) vs Arkansas (2006) - 18 points in the first half, 12 at halftime
8) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points (in both the first and second halves)
9) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points at halftime
(and then lots of games where we trailed by 15 or fewer at some point)

Biggest road deficit in the second half of an eventual win:
1) at LSU (1994) - 31 points
2) at Florida (2020) - 18 points
3) at West Virginia (2018) - 17 points
4) at Louisville (2004) - 16 points

Again, this is based on what I was able to find so far. It may be incomplete.

We were down 22 to Vandy in 97

 

[CapnBlubs]

We were down 22 to Vandy in 97

Thanks for the contribution. I do see on another site that we were down 40-18 in the first half. Strange that the NCAA "biggest comebacks" link which starts at 22 points doesn't list that game.

 

[83Cat]

I had just landed in Orlando with wife and kids just loaded in the rental car. Found an FM station that was the “Voice of the Gators”. (I had to suffer through the local TN radio guys the last game...). Every time UF scored, they would scream and yell, it was driving me crazy all the way to the beach so I shut them off and went to Gamecast updates on the phone. When we got off of the highway we were within 8 and I woke the rest of the car up. Then it went back and forth and by the time we hit the bridge over the intracoastal we were within 1. I stopped the car and hit REFRESH, REFRESH, REFRESH through the end. At that point it was time for a shot of Woodford. Happy spring break. A game I’ll never forget not watching.

 

[jameslee32]

Bump this when necessary.

 

[lakercat]

Thanks for the contribution. I do see on another site that we were down 40-18 in the first half. Strange that the NCAA "biggest comebacks" link which starts at 22 points doesn't list that game.

That Vandy game was also a ROAD game. Not sure why I remember that, but it was the first time, I saw us behind by that much (I do not remember the 94' LSU game).

I wonder what the largest leads that UK lost. I know that they lost a 21 point lead at Tennessee at some point, and a 19 point lead at Mississippi State in 02'. Both were on the road. Might the Tennessee game be the largest lead lost by UK at home?

 

[CapnBlubs]

That Vandy game was also a ROAD game. Not sure why I remember that, but it was the first time, I saw us behind by that much (I do not remember the 94' LSU game).

I wonder what the largest leads that UK lost. I know that they lost a 21 point lead at Tennessee at some point, and a 19 point lead at Mississippi State in 02'. Both were on the road. Might the Tennessee game be the largest lead lost by UK at home?

Yes, the only reason I didn't add it to the second list is because it was a first half deficit. They didn't trail by as much after halftime.

As for losing leads...I know there is a blown halftime leads list on Jon Scott's site. Just as with the comebacks, it would take a ton more research to pinpoint every maximum lead that wasn't at halftime because most boxscores only show halftime and final scores. For older games you pretty much have to rely on articles describing what happened. There are no play by play lists like we can easily find now.