Arizona Basketball: Cats Top 5 Games Vs. Kentucky
By Brad Malone
We continue our series on Arizona Basketball facing the best college basketball programs in history.
Today’s school is the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Kentucky Wildcats have a strong argument that they are the greatest college basketball school in history. They have won 8 National Titles in five different decades and have made the trip to the Final Four 17 times.
Arizona is 3-2 all time vs. Kentucky.
The Cats have faced Adolf Rupp, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith in their five games against Kentucky. All of these men won National Championships while in Lexington.
Arizona fans concerned with the Cats current Final Four drought might want to consider this fun fact: Kentucky failed to make the Final Four for 12 years after their 1998 National Championship.
5. Kentucky 77 Arizona 53
3/16/46
The 1945-46 season was at the time, one the greatest years the program had ever seen.
After finishing 25-4 with Fred Enke at the helm, the Cats were invited to their first ever post-season appearance.
The Cats accepted an invitation to the N.I.T. and were to play the polarizing Hall of Famer Adolf Rupp and the Kentucky Wildcats.
At the time, the N.I.T. was a much more prestigious event.
The Cats got to travel to New York for the game at Madison Square Garden. Rupp’s troops ruined the Cats trip by running roughshod over Arizona in a 24 point win.
4. (#5) Kentucky 93 (#13) Arizona 92 12/23/93
Kentucky was coming off a Final Four appearance when they faced a quick Arizona team in the Maui Invitational Championship game.
Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire combined for 59 points against Lexington’s favorite sons, but it was not enough.
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Reeves hit two clutch free throws with 5.5 seconds left to give the Cats a one-point lead, but the other Wildcats had some last second magic in them.
Kentucky’s Jeff Brassow tipped in the winning shot as time expired and Rick Pitino‘s squad escaped Maui with a big non-conference win.
Coming off two straight NCAA First Round losses, the Cats rebounded from their Maui slip up and coasted all the way to the school’s 2nd Final Four.
3. (#5) Arizona 89 (#8) Kentucky 74
11/25/97
In a rematch of the previous season’s National Championship game, Arizona continued where it left off in April of 1997.
Mike Bibby led all scorers with 20 points. He added eight assists, four rebounds, and four steals to his stat sheet. He also played 37 minutes with no turnovers.
The Cats advanced to the Maui Invitational Championship game where they fell to Arizona Basketball fans least favorite team, the Duke Blue Devils.
2. (#8) Arizona 63 (#11) Kentucky 51
11/26/99
The bright lights of Madison Square Garden didn’t bother freshman Gilbert Arenas in the championship game of the Preseason N.I.T.
In only his fourth college game, the 17-year-old Arenas led the Cats in scoring with 20 points.
He and backcourt mate Jason Gardner combined for nine steals while Arizona’s defense held Kentucky in check, by holding them to 36 percent shooting from the floor.
An 11-0 run in the second half helped the Cats get past Kentucky, and another tournament trophy headed it’s way back to Tucson to rest on Arizona’s locker room mantle.
1. (No.4 Seed) Arizona 84 (No.1 Seed) Kentucky 79 (OT)
3/31/97
It seems fitting that Arizona’s greatest achievement on the hardwood came against arguably the greatest program in college basketball history.
The Cats seemed to have the game almost locked up in regulation, but a late Kentucky three-pointer sent the game into overtime.
In the extra session, the Cats did not score a field goal. Instead, they knocked down ten free throws to give them their first National Championship in school history.
Miles Simon‘s famous up and under move helped him drop 30 points on Kentucky that Monday night. He was awarded the Most Outstanding Player Award for the 1997 Final Four.
Next: Arizona's Top 5 Games Vs. Duke
The 1997 Cats are the only team to defeat three No. 1 seeds on their way to the title after beating blue blood programs Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky. BearDown!