Been a fan since 1977 but that 2010 team's loss to WVU is the hardest one I've ever taken.
What's your favorite UK team, that didn't win the NCAA championship?
- Thread starter TopCatCal
- Start date
Hard to believe you’re the only one to mention 95 so far. That team was dominant & lost 4 regular season games by a total of 10 points. They were extremely deep with talent & experience & destroyed their first 3 tournament opponents before going cold against UNC in the region final. That was a really fun team to watch & I had no doubt that group was gonna cut down the nets in 96. The 84 team was another one that was rolling & looked like the best team in the country heading into the Final Four. I’m still not over that 2nd half. Everybody loved the 92 team & they probably overachieved as much as any UK team in my lifetime. 93 was another team that just completely demoralized opponents. Their tournament run up to the UM game was as impressive as any March run I’ve seen a UK team go on.
I loved that 95 team. Anthony Epps should have been the starting PG, but Pitino insisted on Sheppard. Sheppard was just out of position running point and would charge too often.
I really wanted Andre Riddick to get a ring. I loved watching that guy play, he had one sequence in the 95 SEC Championship (one of the best games ever) where he blocked Corliss Williamson 3 or 4 times on the same possession.
I was a Riddick fan myself & one of my favorite UK memories is when he choked Rasheed Wallace after taking that BS elbow. Obviously, the end result sucked but I was proud of Riddick for not taking that shit.
The 97 team was fun to watch with Mercer and Anderson..would have won the title had Rick played DA in the title game..What was crazy is that he was cleared by the Dr's and was going full practice and was said to be the best player on the floor...cost us a title
I would agree wholeheartedly. They were small but they knew how to play the game.
1997, that title game was my first experience with true sports fandom pain at 9 years old. A hissy fit like you could never imagine ensued, it’s when I knew I was a real Kentucky fan and been that way ever since.
I think I have to go with the 2010 team, because I believe they were far and away the best team in the country that year. You can't really say that about the 1984 or 2015 teams. In 1984, I think a 7-game series against G'town would have been 4-3, and I'm not sure we would have won it. Same for 2015, they barely beat Wisconsin the year before, and we'll never know if they would have beaten Duke. I don't think the 2010 team would have lost more than 2 games in a 7-game series against any other team that year.
I have to say '92 hurt the most.
'84 I remember sitting in my chair just watching that disasterous second half unfold. Just five shots was all we needed to fall.
2010 was kind of like the '84 game. Just a couple of shots was all we needed.
1 1975 ... Sr. year in HS
2 1992 ... Laettner...Grrrrr
3 1970 ... Vaughn Wediking....Grrrr
4 2003 ... Dwayne Wade....Grrrr
5 2015 ... Wisconsin... Grrrr
2 1992 ... Laettner...Grrrrr
3 1970 ... Vaughn Wediking....Grrrr
4 2003 ... Dwayne Wade....Grrrr
5 2015 ... Wisconsin... Grrrr
'84 team is #1 on my list. That disastrous 2nd half against Georgetown was painful to watch, even for an 11 year-old.
'93 team for the way we were demolishing everyone in our path until the final four. To this day I believe that if Dale Brown didn't get hurt against Michigan we hoist the trophy.
'97 team...just hit one free throw Nazr
'93 team for the way we were demolishing everyone in our path until the final four. To this day I believe that if Dale Brown didn't get hurt against Michigan we hoist the trophy.
'97 team...just hit one free throw Nazr
Most of you are probably too young to remember the 1913-14 team, led by the smooth-as-butter Junior from Somerset named William Tuttle. Dude was simply unstoppable. He averaged 4.7 points and 3 rebounds that season before leaving a year early (which was frowned upon at the time) to work on his family farm in Pulaski County. That team went 12-2 and lit up the scoreboard to an average of 29 points a game. One of the best in UK history.
I would go with 2015, although the end hurt. That season was so exciting and UK was everywhere. Even the media had to aknowledge UK was a historical team. Plus we were crushing teams and no one wanted to play us. Even know the ending hurt, at least it was a Wisconsin and not a Duke, Kansas, UL, UNC.
Worst and most painful loss in my history as a Cats fan that spans over 40 yrs. Still haven't gotten over it. Occasionally, I'll go back and watch bits and pieces of that game just to analyze what happened. Is that crazy? Talk about a rabid fanbase!! lol
2003 with close seconds going to '15 '10 and '97. But man '03 played defense like their hair was on fire. Whatever happened in the lockeroom of that Vandy game, I believe at Vandy, must have been one for the ages. I remember that team emerged like a totally different team. Then the Bogans ankle injury just made me sick to my stomach.
I almost mentioned the '95 team. I remember the freeze in shooting in the second half. I was having flashbacks to '84. The '95 team was good and helped instill the hunger for '96.
Maybe the 86 team. Kenny Walker was just a beast and gave 110% on the floor.
92 team, now we have to look at that stupid shot the rest of our lives.
2015. I liked every player on that team. I thought the close call win over Notre Dame would make us upset proof in the Final Four but in reality the Wisconsin game was just a repeat of the year before, when they had the same players, too. Us up seven, them up seven, us up five, them up five. They knew who to clamp down on at the end. Then the refs handed the title to Duke in the title game. I mean absolutely handed it to them. So I have to wonder if they wouldn't have done the same to us and losing to Duke would have been worse, much worse, than losing to Wisconsin.
This. For some reason, the 86 team often seems to get overlooked in these discussions. But that was a great team. An undersized bunch that had tremendous chemistry, fought their asses off and overachieved as much as any team we've had here.
It was also cool because it was such a change of style from what we'd been doing. We'd gotten used to Joe B playing these gigantic lineups playing a plodding slow-paced half court style focused overwhelmingly on trying to pound it inside. Then Sutton came in and went completely in the OPPOSITE direction--switched us to a really small and fast lineup that was racing up and down the court. It was quite a refreshing and fun change of style at the time.
I loved everything about the 86 season except for that damn final game.
Last edited:
Will always be 1975 for me, as it was my freshman year and I went to all the games all the way up to the championship. Took me a long time to get over that one.
Next would be 1992, I mean how could you not love the team with all those Kentucky boys who stuck with the program and brought it back from the abyss?
After that it would probably be 2003. I wanted another championship for Tubby and one for Keith Bogans and Chuck Hayes so badly. Bogans was probably our last really great player who played for 4 years and he deserved to go out a champion.
Next would be 1992, I mean how could you not love the team with all those Kentucky boys who stuck with the program and brought it back from the abyss?
After that it would probably be 2003. I wanted another championship for Tubby and one for Keith Bogans and Chuck Hayes so badly. Bogans was probably our last really great player who played for 4 years and he deserved to go out a champion.
1984 for me too. After all that big Sam had went through I really wanted him and those kids to win a Championship.
Other notables: 1975,1986, 2010, 2005(Loved Chuck Hayes), 1992, 1993 and of course 2015.
Last edited:
I like this list, (not necessarily the order) and to it would add 2010 (brought back the excitement after years of slow death) and 1986--Sky's senior year--loved the Hardin to Walker combo. Blanton became "Ricky F***ing Blanton" to me the day that team got knocked out of the tournament, and he will remain Ricky F**king Blanton to me until the day I depart this world.
'92 is tops, if forced to choose, but the rest just throw into a bag and draw out randomly if you need an order.
Similar threads
