5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kentucky Wildcats Entering 2015 NCAA Tournament

By Jerry Landry

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kentucky Wildcats Entering 2015 NCAA Tournament

John Calipari Kentucky Wildcats SEC Tournament Press Conference — There is little not to know about the 34-0 Kentucky Wildcats, or at least you thought. Here are five things that you may not have known about Big Blue before Kentucky tries to go 40-0 and sit at the right hand of Bobby Knight’s 1976 Indiana Hoosiers in college basketball lore.

5. The Wildcats Have Made Final Four In 7 Of Last 8 Decades

Kentucky Wildcats UConn Huskies 2014 Final Four National Championship

5. The Wildcats Have Made Final Four In 7 Of Last 8 Decades

Kentucky Wildcats UConn Huskies 2014 Final Four National Championship — Yep. Before many of you were born, Kentucky basketball was holding down the floor in the Final Four. The Wildcats earned berths in every decade from 1940 until now except for the 2000s. It's pretty impressive for a team to be so historically dominant and still so very relevant.

4. Kentucky Has Won A National Championship With The Most Coaches

Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari Big Blue Nation

4. Kentucky Has Won A National Championship With The Most Coaches

Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari Big Blue Nation — Five coaches have led Big Blue to a national championship title. Adolph Rupp guided the ‘Cats in the late 40s and early 50s. Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and John Calipari have each earned one national championship. In 2015, Calipari looks to move to second place on this list with a second title.

3. The 1996 Kentucky Team Owns Greatest NCAA Tournament Point Differential

1996 Final Four

3. The 1996 Kentucky Team Owns Greatest NCAA Tournament Point Differential

1996 Final Four — Think the 2014-15 Wildcats are about to be dominant? Well, Kentucky will have to compete against in-house history, as the 1996 Wildcats have been the most dominant tourney team to date. That Kentucky incarnation outscored its opponents by 129 points over six games.

2. Kentucky Has The Best Winning Percentage In Division I CBB History

Kentucky Wildcats SEC Tournament winningest basketball program

2. Kentucky Has The Best Winning Percentage In Division I CBB History

Kentucky Wildcats SEC Tournament winningest basketball program — Not only have the Wildcats won the most games (2,174), but Kentucky has also been the most efficient in winning them. At 76.4 percent, the Wildcats edge the North Carolina Tar Heels by nearly three percent (76.4 vs. 73.6).

1. Unbeaten Teams Have Won The Championship Just 39% Of The Time

Kentucky Wildcats Willie Cauley-Stein Undefeated

1. Unbeaten Teams Have Won The Championship Just 39% Of The Time

Kentucky Wildcats Willie Cauley-Stein Undefeated — Uh-oh, this bodes poorly for the Wildcats. What’s even worse is that the last four unbeaten teams entering the tournament fell shy of a national title: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1976), Indiana State Sycamores (1979), UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1991) and Wichita State Shockers (2014).

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Kentucky Wildcats

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