1991–92 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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
SEC East and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 6
Record29–7 (12–4 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRupp Arena
Seasons
1991–92 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
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":

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

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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

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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

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[8]

Rankings

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Jamal Mashburn of the Wildcats was claimed in the 1992 NBA draft. [9]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1991-92 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ ASSOCIATED PRESS (May 19, 1989). "Kentucky Put on 3 Years' Probation : NCAA Bans Postseason Play 2 Years, Orders Limited Wildcat Scholarships". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "UK Career Statistics for Eric Manuel". www.bigbluehistory.net. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Howlett, Ken (March 28, 2012). "Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: The Unforgettables 20-years ago today". A Sea Of Blue. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "From immortal to quite mortal, Kentucky's Unforgettables face midlife challenges 25 years after their greatest moment". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "The Unforgettables 25 Years Later". www.on3.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Beyond the Glory" The Unforgettables (TV Episode 2005) - IMDb, April 3, 2005, retrieved September 16, 2021
  8. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  9. ^ "1992 NBA Draft on". Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.