Biggest upset in UK history
- Thread starter EvilMD
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GW wasn't that big of an upset considering the shape the program was in under Gillispie. UAB was huge.
If you recall, a lot of posters (including me) felt that we might well lose to UAB in 2004. It was a bad matchup and, if you want to include the coach in the discussion, that was a major factor. Inviting Richardson to practice was the point that I completely fell off the Tubby bandwagon.
It was a joke about how we have dominated them since Cal has been here. I know they were favored.
The biggest one I can think of has to be the UAB loss in 2004. There was just no excuse to lose that game. What made that even more pathetic is that Kansas beat UAB by 26 in the Sweet 16. I think the most embarrassing loss though was letting Virginia Military Institute come into Rupp and hang 111 on us.
Good answer with the Ohio State game. The WKU game was in 2001. I remember being there and UK playing in the consolation game for the powerful NABC classic the day after against whomever was the loser between the blue blood match up between Marshall and George Washington. As a WKU student at the time and usual fan, campus was unbearable that weekend with the gloating even though looking back rightfully deserved.
That 12 point home loss to WKU in 20001 might have been the worst, though not the most significant.
We were ranked 4th to start that season, and fell all the way to a 4th seed, and a Sweet Sixteen date with eventual champ, Maryland. That was our "Team Turmoil."
Overall in my lifetime, I would have to go with Middle Tennessee in the 1982 NCAA tourney. I was in second grade, and my parents wouldn't let me stay up late to watch the game. They said I could watch the second round against UL though. Never quite got over the shock when I woke up the next morning
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Another one of those "what just happened?" games was when the Crispin brothers of Penn State came to town.
We were ranked 4th to start that season, and fell all the way to a 4th seed, and a Sweet Sixteen date with eventual champ, Maryland. That was our "Team Turmoil."
Overall in my lifetime, I would have to go with Middle Tennessee in the 1982 NCAA tourney. I was in second grade, and my parents wouldn't let me stay up late to watch the game. They said I could watch the second round against UL though. Never quite got over the shock when I woke up the next morning
.Another one of those "what just happened?" games was when the Crispin brothers of Penn State came to town.
No worries, sarcasm is hard to deliver through writingSorry... Just woke up, haven't had my caffeine yet
Well, because it wasn't that big of an upset, no matter how mad it made us.
Had we slipped up in a couple of conference games and been, say, 36-2, it may not have been an upset at all.
We were being measured against history, not Wisconsin.
There really aren't that many upsets to think of really. The amazing part about that is there should be a lot more considering 2 things.
1) some of the coaches we had, winning wasn't their #1 goal, playing mind games and refusing to adapt seemed to be more important.
2) UK gets everyone's best shot. Gardner Webb and UAB played out of their minds and our guys seemed to just stand there.
We have been incredible in this department under Coach Cal, we have been the one doing the deed more times than not so I like where we are right now but man it was dark there for a while.
Some of our other blueblood brethren have a lot more to talk about as far as being on the wrong end of an upset. Very recently actually.
1) some of the coaches we had, winning wasn't their #1 goal, playing mind games and refusing to adapt seemed to be more important.
2) UK gets everyone's best shot. Gardner Webb and UAB played out of their minds and our guys seemed to just stand there.
We have been incredible in this department under Coach Cal, we have been the one doing the deed more times than not so I like where we are right now but man it was dark there for a while.
Some of our other blueblood brethren have a lot more to talk about as far as being on the wrong end of an upset. Very recently actually.
Easy answer. The win over undefeated IU in the 1975 regional final. I've never been more proud of a UK team than I was that day.
The WVU game in the NCAA where we threw up bricks is my pick but the maddest I ever got over a UK game is and will always be Gardner Webb.
To me the biggest upset was the late 60's. UK played Texas Western in the finals of the NCAA Tourney. We lost to a team we could normally have beaten by several points. You would think that Texas Western was the best team ever assembled if you go by the stories that have been written. I wish they could have played 5 more games the same year.
The biggest upset loss in our history? Then it's a no-brainer. The Cats lost to Georgia Tech in 1954 in Memorial Coliseum to end a record 158 game home winning streak. Probably at #2 would be the followup game in Atlanta a few weeks later when the huge underdog Georgia Tech team again knocked of the Cats.
To me the Ga Tech win wasn't that bad. I think it was 1951 and I was a student at Ga Tech. I also think the high scorer for Tech was a player from Frankfort, Ky named Taylor, It was definitely a surprise but a season loss isn't as bad as the NCAA Final and the following publicity, which seems to continue forever.
LOL at people throwing out WVU in 2010 and Wisconsin in 2015 as "biggest upsets ever" contenders. That is just absurd, and I do not really think people know what a HUGE upset is. That is an upset where almost no one or no one is picking the other team. Some people were picking both WVU and Wisconsin so let's not act like those were just cupcakes that we were preordained to dominate by 20+.
To set the story straight, the loss to Georgia tech was January 8, 1955...I will never forget anything about that game because I had something personal involved...my uncle was one of the 2 refs for the game....took me a long time to "forgive" him! Also, the winning streak was 129 games, not 158 as listed above. The score was 59-58....and we again scored 59 points in the rematch, losing 65-59 in a game in which I believe we never had the lead.
Now on to my answer of the poster's question: It may have not been the biggest upset of UK in history, but the game we lost to Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA final was and always will be the one that hurt me the most....that one really hurt bad.
Now on to my answer of the poster's question: It may have not been the biggest upset of UK in history, but the game we lost to Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA final was and always will be the one that hurt me the most....that one really hurt bad.
I have been a UK fan since the 97-98 season, I think I was in the third grade at the time, so I can only include games since that time.
I guess the biggest upset losses would be UAB in the tournament, Gardner Web, VMI, and Robert Morris. There is no reason for UK to lose to those kind of teams.
I guess the biggest upset losses would be UAB in the tournament, Gardner Web, VMI, and Robert Morris. There is no reason for UK to lose to those kind of teams.
Don't let facts get in the way of a good story. Cal can't coach, remember? An upset? Yes. Should UK have won that game? Yes. But before the tournament had even started the one or two teams most posters on this board said that they would like to avoid if at all possible were Wisconsin, and to a lesser degree Arizona.
I can understand the loss to WVU but not the 2015 loss to Wisconsin. That is absurd as Wiscy was a damn good team and had 3 legit NBA talents on the team. The WVU loss because worse the longer it goes. People can't believe that WVU team beat a team with Boogie, Wall, Bledsoe, and Patterson but they were not the players they are today. So, the perception of the loss becomes greater and greater with each year that those players become better and better. I myself, still think it was a pretty big upset.
I'll also mention Arizona in the '97 championship game as a pretty significant upset. At the time, I was already counting my chickens before the game even started as I didn't think Zona had a chance. None of the experts did either until it got to Digger Phelps. I just remember him saying........ "I'm going with Arizona! Arizona shocks the world tonight!!"
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