Kentucky has re-written both the school and NCAA record books this season en route to a perfect 36-0 mark and a berth in the Sweet 16.
With its 64-51 victory over (8) Cincinnati Saturday, the Wildcats became the first team in college basketball history to start a season 36-0, eclipsing Wichita State's 35-0 start last season, which Kentucky ended in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis last season.
John Calipari's Wildcats have also surpassed numerous school and league watermarks along the way including:
- best start in school history (26-0)
- longest single-season win streak in school history (28)
- longest overall win streak in school history (33)
- longest win streak in SEC history (33)
Kentucky became the first team since Duke in 1991-92 to go wire-to-wire as the Associated Press No. 1 and after defeating Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship, became just the fourth team since Indiana in 1976 to enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated.
And, of course, the Wildcats are still chasing history, attempting to become the eighth undefeated national champion, the first since the Hoosiers in 1976 and the first-ever to go 40-0.
But they're also starting approach rarefied college basketball air in a broader sense.
Kentucky's 36-game win streak is already the longest single-season win streak in college basketball history, but is also tied for the 12th-longest in NCAA history and is the longest since UNLV won 45 straight spanning the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.
But there is also a different kind of history potentially awaiting the Wildcats in the Sweet 16.
West Virginia, UK's next opponent, ended North Carolina's 37-game win streak in 1958 and potential Elite 8 opponents Wichita State and Notre Dame also have a history of putting a stop to such runs.
The Shockers halted Cincinnati's 37-game run in 1963 and the Irish ended maybe the greatest streak in sports' history, toppling UCLA and snapping the Bruins' 88-game win streak in 1974.
If Kentucky were to go 40-0 and win the national title, it would give the Wildcats the ninth-longest win streak in NCAA history.
Longest winning streaks in NCAA history
1) 88 UCLA (1971-74)
2) 60 San Francisco (1955-57)
3) 47 UCLA (1966-68)
4) 45 UNLV (1990-91)
5) 44 Texas (1913-17)
6) 43 LIU-Brooklyn (1935-37)
7) 43 Seton Hall (1939-41)
8) 41 UCLA (1968-69)
9) 39 Marquette (1970-71)
10) 37 North Carolina (1957-58)
11) 37 Cincinnati (1962-63)
12) 36 NC State (1974-75)
12) 36 Kentucky (2014-15)
With its 64-51 victory over (8) Cincinnati Saturday, the Wildcats became the first team in college basketball history to start a season 36-0, eclipsing Wichita State's 35-0 start last season, which Kentucky ended in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis last season.
John Calipari's Wildcats have also surpassed numerous school and league watermarks along the way including:
- best start in school history (26-0)
- longest single-season win streak in school history (28)
- longest overall win streak in school history (33)
- longest win streak in SEC history (33)
Kentucky became the first team since Duke in 1991-92 to go wire-to-wire as the Associated Press No. 1 and after defeating Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship, became just the fourth team since Indiana in 1976 to enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated.
And, of course, the Wildcats are still chasing history, attempting to become the eighth undefeated national champion, the first since the Hoosiers in 1976 and the first-ever to go 40-0.
But they're also starting approach rarefied college basketball air in a broader sense.
Kentucky's 36-game win streak is already the longest single-season win streak in college basketball history, but is also tied for the 12th-longest in NCAA history and is the longest since UNLV won 45 straight spanning the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.
But there is also a different kind of history potentially awaiting the Wildcats in the Sweet 16.
West Virginia, UK's next opponent, ended North Carolina's 37-game win streak in 1958 and potential Elite 8 opponents Wichita State and Notre Dame also have a history of putting a stop to such runs.
The Shockers halted Cincinnati's 37-game run in 1963 and the Irish ended maybe the greatest streak in sports' history, toppling UCLA and snapping the Bruins' 88-game win streak in 1974.
If Kentucky were to go 40-0 and win the national title, it would give the Wildcats the ninth-longest win streak in NCAA history.
Longest winning streaks in NCAA history
1) 88 UCLA (1971-74)
2) 60 San Francisco (1955-57)
3) 47 UCLA (1966-68)
4) 45 UNLV (1990-91)
5) 44 Texas (1913-17)
6) 43 LIU-Brooklyn (1935-37)
7) 43 Seton Hall (1939-41)
8) 41 UCLA (1968-69)
9) 39 Marquette (1970-71)
10) 37 North Carolina (1957-58)
11) 37 Cincinnati (1962-63)
12) 36 NC State (1974-75)
12) 36 Kentucky (2014-15)
