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Program history

Kentucky
in the tournament.

64 appearances · 133–56 all-time · 1942–2026

Kentucky appears in 64 tournaments in this archive, between 1942 and 2026, with an all-time record of 133–56. 8 of them ended with the net coming down: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 and 2012.

It has also lost the title game 4 times: 1966, 1975, 1997 and 2014.

In its opening game it is 32–16. 17 of its 27 games decided by three points or fewer went its way.

Its biggest upset as the underdog came in 1985, when a 12th seed beat the 4th-seeded UNLV 64–61. The reverse happened in 2022: as a 2nd seed it lost to the 15th-seeded Saint Peter's 85–79.

Its longest run of consecutive appearances is 17, from 1992 to 2008. It has met Marquette 9 times, more than any other opponent.

This archive carries no numeric seed before 1979. Since then it has entered as high as a 1st seed and as low as a 12th.

  • 64 Appearances
  • 133–56 All-time record
  • 8 Titles

Season by season

Every tournament appearance by Kentucky in the archive. This archive carries no numeric seed before 1979. Season records and coaches come from the sourced season shards.
YearSeedRecordCoachConferenceFinish
1942—19–6Adolph RuppSoutheasternround of 64
1945—22–4Adolph RuppSECRegional third place
1948—36–3Adolph RuppSoutheasternChampion
1949—32–2Adolph RuppSoutheasternChampion
1951—32–2Adolph RuppSoutheasternChampion
1952—29–3Adolph RuppSoutheasternRound of 8
1955—23–3Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional third place
1956—20–6Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Runner-up
1957—23–5Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Runner-up
1958—23–6Adolph RuppSoutheasternChampion
1959—24–3Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional third place
1961—19–9Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Runner-up
1962—23–3Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Runner-up
1964—21–6Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Fourth Place
1966—27–2Adolph RuppSoutheastern ConferenceRunner Up
1968—21–4Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional Runner-up
1969—20–4Adolph RuppSoutheasternRegional third place
1970—26–2Adolph RuppSoutheast ConferenceRegional Runner-up
1971—22–6Adolph RuppSoutheastern ConferenceRegional Fourth Place
1972—21–7Adolph RuppSoutheastern ConferenceRegional Runner-up
1973—20–8Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRegional Runner-up
1975—26–5Joe B. HallSoutheast ConferenceRunner-up
1977—26–4Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRegional Runner-up
1978230–2Joe B. HallSoutheast ConferenceChampion
1980129–6Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRound of 16
1981222–6Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRound of 32
1982622–8Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRound of 48
1983323–8Joe B. HallSoutheastern ConferenceRegional Runner-up
1984129–5Joe B. HallSoutheast ConferenceNational semifinals
19851218–13Joe B. HallSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional semifinals to St John's, 70–86
1986132–4Eddie SuttonSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Finals to LSU, 57–59
1987818–11Eddie SuttonSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round 1 to Ohio State, 77–91
1988225–5Eddie SuttonSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional semifinals to Villanova, 74–80
1992229–7Rick PitinoSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Finals to Duke, 103–104 (OT)
1993130–4Rick PitinoSoutheastern Conferencelost in the National semifinals to Michigan, 78–81 (OT)
1994327–7Rick PitinoSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round 2 to Marquette, 63–75
1995128–5Rick PitinoSoutheast Conferencelost in the Regional Finals to North Carolina, 61–74
1996134–2Rick PitinoSoutheastern Conferencechampion
1997135–5Rick PitinoSoutheast Conferencelost in the Championship to Arizona, 79–84 (OT)
1998235–4Tubby SmithSoutheast Conferencechampion
1999328–9Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Final to Michigan State, 66–73
2000523–10Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round of 32 to Syracuse, 50–52
2001224–10Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Semifinal to USC, 76–80
2002422–10Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Semifinal to Maryland, 68–78
2003132–4Tubby SmithSoutheast Conferencelost in the Regional Final to Marquette, 69–83
2004127–5Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round of 32 to UAB, 75–76
2005228–6Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Regional Final to Michigan State, 88–94 (OT)
2006822–13Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round of 32 to Connecticut, 83–87
2007822–12Tubby SmithSoutheastern Conferencelost in the Round of 32 to Kansas, 76–88
20081118–13Billy GillispieSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 64 to Marquette, 66–74
2010135–3John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the regional final to West Virginia, 66–73
2011429–9John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the national semifinal to Connecticut, 55–56
2012138–2John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencewon the national championship game (67–59 vs Kansas)
2014829–11John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the championship game to UConn, 54–60
2015138–1John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the national semifinal to Wisconsin, 64–71
2016427–9John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 32 to Indiana, 67–73
2017232–6John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the regional final to North Carolina, 73–75
2018526–11John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the regional semifinal to Kansas State, 58–61
2019230–7John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the regional final to Auburn, 71–77 (OT)
2022226–8John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 64 to Saint Peter's, 79–85 (OT)
2023622–12John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 32 to Kansas State, 69–75
2024323–10John CalipariSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 64 to Oakland, 76–80
2025324–12Mark PopeSoutheastern Conferencelost in the regional semifinal to Tennessee, 65–78
2026722–14Mark PopeSoutheastern Conferencelost in the round of 32 to Iowa State, 63–82

How the games went

Record by round.
RoundW–L
Opening32–16
Round of 6438–6
Round of 3218–7
Round of 810–11
Semifinal30–12
Final5–4

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Read nextEvery program in the archiveAll 407 schools, with their tournament records. Read nextWhat a seed line is actually worthEvery seed's record across 41 tournaments. Read nextEvery championship game since 1939All 87 finals, with scores and the gaps in the record.