The 1991–92 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in NCAA competition in the 1991–92 season. The team was coached by Rick Pitino.
| 1991–92 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} | |
SEC East and tournament champions | |
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 9 |
| AP | No. 6 |
| Record | 29–7 (12–4 SEC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Assistant coaches | |
| Home arena | Rupp Arena |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Kentucky † | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 29 | – | 7 | .806 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 19 | – | 14 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 15 | – | 14 | .517 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 3 | – | 13 | .188 | 11 | – | 17 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Arkansas | 13 | – | 3 | .813 | 26 | – | 8 | .765 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 LSU | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 21 | – | 10 | .677 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Alabama | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 26 | – | 9 | .743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 4 | – | 12 | .250 | 11 | – | 17 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1992 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This season's team is one of the most fondly remembered in UK's long basketball history. Due to major recruiting violations committed by Pitino's predecessor Eddie Sutton, the 1991–92 Wildcats were coming off a three-year postseason ban where the team was not allowed to compete in tournament play.[2] (Note the NCAA did not find Sutton personally liable.) The violations had mainly centered on alleged cheating by 1987-89[3] player Eric Manuel on the ACT college entrance exam and cash payments to the guardian of another former player, Chris Mills.
The 1991–92 season was the first year after probation when the Wildcats were allowed to compete and the only opportunity for the team's four seniors, who remained loyal to the program as opposed to transferring to teams allowed in the tournament. Three of these seniors were Kentucky natives. Together, all four would enter Kentucky basketball history as "The Unforgettables":
- Richie Farmer, a 6'0"/1.83 m shooting guard from Manchester, a small town in the commonwealth's eastern coal fields.
- Deron Feldhaus, a 6'7"/2.01 m forward from Maysville, a small Ohio River town in the Bluegrass region, about an hour's drive upriver from Cincinnati.
- John Pelphrey, a 6'8"/2.03 m forward from another eastern coal town, Paintsville.
- Sean Woods, the only non-Kentuckian "Unforgettable," a 6'2"/1.88 m point guard from Indianapolis.
Although the seniors were the heart and soul of the team, its biggest star was sophomore Jamal Mashburn, who would go on to become a consensus first-team All-American the following season and have a successful 12-year NBA career; he is now an NBA analyst for ESPN.
The Wildcats' run in the NCAA tournament would end in a regional final against Duke that is often cited as the greatest college game ever played. The heavily favored Blue Devils survived an overtime thriller on Christian Laettner's last-second shot at the buzzer.
Team legacy
The legacy of "The Unforgettables" was so great within the university that the UK program decided to retire the players' jerseys (but not their numbers) almost immediately after their final tournament game. (While jersey retirement is not uncommon, it is rare for a school to bestow this honor so soon after a player's career ends.) The team also went on a post-tournament all-county exhibition tour, where thousands of Kentuckians gathered in high school gyms across the commonwealth to meet and express pride in the team.
National and local sports news outlets continued to cover the players in "where are they now" and similar features for at least 25 years after the tournament.[4][5][6] In 2005, a documentary film about the team, "Beyond the Glory," was released.[7]
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| Nov 20, 1991* | No. 4 | West Virginia | W 106–80 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Nov 22, 1991* | No. 4 | Pittsburgh | L 67–85 | 1–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Dec 4, 1991* | No. 14 | UMass | W 90–69 | 2–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Dec 7, 1991* | No. 14 | vs. No. 9 Indiana Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 76–74 | 3–1 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||||
| Dec 10, 1991* | No. 9 | Texas State | W 82–36 | 4–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Dec 12, 1991* | No. 9 | vs. Morehead State | W 101–84 | 5–1 | Freedom Hall | ||||||
| Dec 14, 1991* | No. 9 | Arizona State | W 94–68 | 6–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Dec 21, 1991* | No. 8 | vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech | L 80–81 | 6–2 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia | ||||||
| Dec 23, 1991* | No. 17 | vs. Ohio | W 73–63 | 7–2 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio | ||||||
| Dec 28, 1991* | No. 17 | No. 21 Louisville | W 103–89 | 8–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 2, 1992* | No. 17 | Notre Dame | W 91–70 | 9–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 4, 1992 | No. 17 | at South Carolina | W 80–63 | 10–2 (1–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina | ||||||
| Jan 7, 1992 | No. 15 | Georgia | W 78–66 | 11–2 (2–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 11, 1992 | No. 15 | Florida | W 81–60 | 12–2 (3–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 15, 1992 | No. 10 | at Vanderbilt | W 84–71 | 13–2 (4–0) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee | ||||||
| Jan 18, 1992* | No. 10 | Eastern Kentucky | W 85–55 | 14–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 21, 1992 | No. 8 | at Tennessee | L 85–107 | 14–3 (4–1) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee | ||||||
| Jan 25, 1992 | No. 8 | No. 9 Arkansas | L 88–105 | 14–4 (4–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Jan 29, 1992 | No. 14 | Ole Miss | W 95–78 | 15–4 (5–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Feb 2, 1992 ABC | No. 14 | at LSU | L 53–74 | 15–5 (5–3) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||||||
| Feb 8, 1992 | No. 19 | at Auburn | W 85–67 | 16–5 (6–3) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama | ||||||
| Feb 12, 1992 | No. 19 | No. 16 Alabama | W 107–83 | 17–5 (7–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Feb 15, 1992* UKTV | No. 19 | Western Kentucky | W 93–83 | 18–5 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Feb 19, 1992 | No. 13 | at Mississippi State | W 89–84 | 19–5 (8–3) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi | ||||||
| Feb 23, 1992 | No. 13 | at Georgia | W 84–73 | 20–5 (9–3) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia | ||||||
| Feb 26, 1992 | No. 11 | South Carolina | W 74–56 | 21–5 (10–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Mar 1, 1992 | No. 11 | Vanderbilt | W 80–56 | 22–5 (11–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| Mar 4, 1992 | No. 10 | at Florida | L 62–79 | 22–6 (11–4) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida | ||||||
| Mar 7, 1992 | No. 10 | Tennessee | W 99–88 | 23–6 (12–4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||
| SEC Tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 13, 1992* JPS | (2) No. 9 | vs. (9) Vanderbilt Quarterfinals | W 76–57 | 24–6 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama | ||||||
| Mar 14, 1992* JPS | (2) No. 9 | vs. (3) No. 23 LSU Semifinals | W 80–74 | 25–6 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama | ||||||
| Mar 15, 1992* JPS | (2) No. 9 | vs. (4) No. 17 Alabama Championship game | W 80–54 | 26–6 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama | ||||||
| NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 20, 1992* | (2 E) No. 6 | vs. (15 E) Old Dominion First round | W 88–69 | 27–6 | Centrum in Worcester Worcester, Massachusetts | ||||||
| Mar 22, 1992* | (2 E) No. 6 | vs. (10 E) Iowa State Second round | W 106–98 | 28–6 | Centrum in Worcester Worcester, Massachusetts | ||||||
| Mar 26, 1992* CBS | (2 E) No. 6 | vs. (3 E) No. 17 UMass East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 87–77 | 29–6 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||||||
| Mar 28, 1992* CBS | (2 E) No. 6 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke East Regional Final – Elite Eight | L 103–104 OT | 29–7 | The Spectrum (17,878) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. | |||||||||||
NCAA basketball tournament
- East
- Kentucky (2) 88, Old Dominion (15) 69
- Kentucky 106, Iowa State (10) 98
- Kentucky 87, Massachusetts (3) 77
- Duke (1) 104, Kentucky 103 (OT)
Rankings
Team players drafted into the NBA
Jamal Mashburn of the Wildcats was claimed in the 1992 NBA draft.[9]