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Kentucky Basketball

Could the Kentucky Wildcats go from first-round NIT losers to NCAA champions? Absolutely.

Kentucky Wildcats 2013 recruiting class is already being hailed as the best in college basketball history.

Kentucky Mascots - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Mascots – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Kentucky's 2013 class is already being hailed as the best in college basketball history. The haul includes four players (Andrew and , and ) ranked among the nation's top 10 prospects by ESPN.com. The cherry on top could be No. 1 overall recruit Wiggins, who is still trying to decide between Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State and North Carolina.

Even without Wiggins, this may be the most talented college basketball team ever assembled. But will it jell? Even though injuries and chemistry issues ruined his most recent team, has proved to be excellent at coaching players who plan to spend only a year or two in college. He's great at getting them to play defense and share the ball. It will help that some of Kentucky's key players in 2012-13 (, Willie Cauley-Steinand ) will return to provide veteran leadership, which is something the program sorely lacked last season.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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