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The Race to 2000 Wins

Was won by Kentucky December 21, 2009 after a victory over Drexel.  The rest is history.

Assuming that Kentucky wins its first 12 games, they are projected to get their 2000th win on December 21, 2009 against Drexel and assuming that North Carolina wins its first 16 games, they are projected to get their 2000th win on January 10, 2010 against Virginia Tech.  The red and green “projected” lines are based on this projection.  However this, of course, isn’t possible because Kentucky and North Carolina play each other on December 5, 2009 and someone has to lose.  The “real” lines will adjust as each team wins or loses games.  You won’t see the “real” lines or any difference between the “real” lines and the “projected” lines unless someone loses a game for obvious reasons.  The dates along the bottom of the chart indicate a date that either North Carolina or Kentucky has a game scheduled.  The numbers along the left hand side of the chart indicate the number of wins needed to reach the milestone of 2000 wins.  My guess is that Kentucky will reach the monumental goal of 2000 wins before North Carolina but it won’t be December 21, 2009.  My pick is December 29 against Hartford only because I think we’ll lose to both North Carolina and Connecticut but I hope I’m wrong.  For further analysis, drop to the paragraph below the chart.

Note:  this chart will be updated as games are played and will be adjusted depending on the length of time it takes either team to reach 2000 wins.  If you notice discrepancies, and that’s very possible, please let me know.  Also, you’ll need flash installed in order to view the chart.  Understandably some mobile phones still do not support flash.  Sorry about that but unavoidable.

 

If both North Carolina and Kentucky go undefeated until their match-up on December 5, 2009, this would put the race at UK with 1,995 and UNC with 1,992.  For the sake of argument, let’s say the Tarheels goe into Rupp and win.  That would make it 1,995 to 1,993 in favor of Kentucky.  If UNC achieves a 15-0 start to the season, that puts them at 1,999 meaning they will be going for win number 2,000 versus Virginia Tech on January 10th, 2010.  If we assume the UNC game as Kentucky’s only loss on the year, they would be looking at win number 2,000 against Long Beach State on December 23rd, 2009.  If Kentucky drops the North Carolina AND Connecticut games, Kentucky would play for win number 2,000 against Hartford at Rupp Arena on December 29th.

The only way North Carolina can get to 2,000 wins first is if UNC is a perfect 15-0 AND Kentucky is 11-5 after UK plays Georgia on January 9th.

One other scenario which is very likely:  If Kentucky loses exactly three games up through December, they’d be 11-3 with 1,999 all-time wins, and their next game would be at Rupp Arena on 1/2/10 against… Louisville.  The opportunity to achieve win number 2,000 over the Cardinals and of course Rick Pitino, would have most Kentucky fans salivating. 

The University of Kentucky is tracking the race as well here.

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.