UCLA may have the most titles in NCAA history (for now), but I've always thought UK and UNC were the top 2 programs of all time. Why? Consistent success.
Consider this one example of consistency:
1940s Final Fours:
UK - 3
UNC - 1
UCLA - 0
1950s Final Fours:
UK - 2
UNC - 1
UCLA - 0
1960s Final Fours:
UCLA - 6
UNC - 3
UK - 1
1970s Final Fours:
UCLA - 7
UK - 2
UNC - 2
1980s Final Fours:
UNC - 2
UK - 1
UCLA - 0
1990s Final Fours:
UNC - 5
UK - 4
UCLA - 1
2000s Final Fours:
UNC - 4
UCLA - 3
UK - 0
2010s Final Fours:
UK - 4
UNC - 1
UCLA - 0
So, in eight decades, UK has only missed out on the Final Four once (the 2000s - basically why Tubby Smith was fired midway through the decade) and UNC has never missed it for an entire decade. Meanwhile, UCLA has FIVE different decades without a Final Four...almost all of their success came during the Sam Gilbert era.
And if you broaden it to Elite Eights, and include all-time totals:
1) UK - 37
2) UNC - 28
3) KU - 23
4) UCLA - 21
Basically, it's like this...UK and UNC have been great throughout history in both the regular AND postseason. KU has been great in the regular season (which is why they're second all-time in wins), but often falls short in the tournament. And UCLA had ONE period of greatness. Otherwise, they've been nothing special.
As much as it seems like I'm praising North Carolina here (and, tradition-wise, I am), I have no love for their school and think they should have been stripped of literally every accomplishment during the academic cheating era (1990-2010, roughly). UK's superiority over them, numerically, should be even greater than it is.
Unfortunately, one disappointing fact remains...the Tar Heels are the only "Blue Blood" program with an all-time winning record against the Cats. UK has won more often than lost against UCLA, Duke, Kansas, and Indiana. Plus Louisville, another top school. And so many other opponents.
After all, UK is #1 all-time in wins, winning percentage, tournament wins, etc. etc...
But enough of that. Let's take a look at the numbers for the UK-UNC series...
Overall, UK is 15-23 against UNC (39.5%)
UK is 8-6 in home games against UNC (57.1%)
Rupp Arena: 5-2 (71.4%)
Memorial Coliseum: 2-3 (40%)
Alumni Gym: 1-1 (50%)
UK is 2-6 in road games against UNC (25%)
Dean Smith Center: 2-6 (25%)
UK is 5-11 at neutral sites against UNC (31.3%)
Prudential Center (Newark): 1-0 (100%) - won 2011 East Regional Final
T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas): 1-0 (100%) - won 2016 regular season (CBS Sports Classic)
Freedom Hall (Louisville): 1-2 (33.3%) - won in 1974 regular season, lost in 1972 and 1989 regular season
Charlotte Coliseum: 1-2 (33.3%) - won in 1969 regular season, lost in 1964 and 1975 regular season
Greensboro Coliseum: 1-2 (33.3%) - won in 1960 regular season, lost in 1967 and 1973 regular season
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center: 0-1 (0%) - lost 1995 Southeast Regional Final
Cole Field House (College Park, MD): 0-1 (0%) - lost 1977 East Regional Final
Brendan Byrne Arena (East Rutherford): 0-1 (0%) - lost in 1981 regular season
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium: 0-2 (0%) - 1924 and 1932 Southern Conference Tournament games
By type of game:
Regular season: 14-19
Postseason: 1-4 (0-2 SoCon Tournament, 1-2 NCAA Tournament)
State of Kentucky: 9-8
State of North Carolina: 4-10
Every other state: 2-5
By UK coach:
John Calipari: 5-2 (3-0 home, 0-2 road, 1-0 reg season neutral, 1-0 NCAAT)
Billy Gillispie: 0-2 (0-1 home, 0-1 road)
Tubby Smith: 4-3 (2-1 home, 2-2 road)
Rick Pitino: 0-2 (0-1 road, 0-1 NCAAT)
Eddie Sutton: 0-1 (at Freedom Hall)
Joe B. Hall: 1-5 (1-4 reg season neutral, 0-1 NCAAT)
Adolph Rupp: 5-6 (3-3 home, 2-2 reg season neutral, 0-1 SoCon Tournament)
John Mauer: 0-1 (home)
George Buchheit: 0-1 (SoCon Tournament)
By UNC coach:
Roy Williams (since 2004): 7-6 against UK (2-5 vs. Calipari, 2-0 vs. Billy G, 3-1 vs. Tubby)
Matt Doherty: 0-3 against UK (Tubby Smith)
Dean Smith: 13-3 against UK (2-0 vs. Pitino, 1-0 vs. Sutton, 5-1 vs. Hall, 5-2 vs. Rupp)
Frank McGuire: 0-2 against UK (Rupp)
Tom Scott: 0-1 against UK (Rupp)
George Shepard: 1-0 against UK (Rupp)
James Ashmore: 1-0 against UK (Mauer)
Norman Shepard: 1-0 against UK (Buchheit)
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