Kentucky coaching records in SEC regular season home games

Kentucky's total record in SEC regular home games?



So, what's Kentucky's total record in SEC regular season games at Rupp Arena?

306-38 (89.0%)

In other words, they win more than 8 out of every 9 times.  What about by individual coach?

Calipari at Rupp: 66-3 (95.7%)
2010: 8-0
2011: 8-0
2012: 8-0
2013: 8-1
2014: 7-2
2015: 9-0
2016: 9-0
2017: 9-0

Billy G at Rupp: 12-4 (75%)
2008: 8-0
2009: 4-4

Tubby at Rupp: 67-12 (84.8%)
1998: 5-2 (also beat Alabama at Freedom Hall)
1999: 7-1
2000: 8-0
2001: 8-0
2002: 6-2
2003: 8-0
2004: 7-1
2005: 8-0
2006: 4-4
2007: 6-2

Pitino at Rupp: 60-4 (93.8%)
1990: 9-0
1991: 9-0
1992: 7-1
1993: 8-0
1994: 6-1 (also beat Ole Miss at Freedom Hall)
1995: 7-1
1996: 8-0
1997: 6-1 (also beat Vandy at Riverfront Coliseum)

Sutton at Rupp: 28-7 (80%)
1986: 9-0
1987: 6-2 (also beat Georgia at Freedom Hall)
1988: 7-2
1989: 6-3


Hall at Rupp: 73-8 (90.1%)
1977: 8-1
1978: 9-0
1979: 7-2
1980: 7-2
1981: 9-0
1982: 9-0 (but lost at Rupp in SEC tourn.)
1983: 8-1
1984: 9-0
1985: 7-2

Hall at Memorial: 31-5 (86.1%)
1973: 8-1
1974: 6-3
1975: 9-0
1976: 8-1

Hall's career total: 104-13 (88.9%)

Rupp at Memorial:
1951: 7-0 (also beat Ole Miss in Owensboro)
1952: 7-0 (also beat Georgia in Louisville)
1953: N/A
1954: 7-0 (also beat Georgia Tech in Louisville, Georgia in Owensboro)
1955: 7-1 (also beat LSU in Memorial in December '54...unclear whether this was an SEC game or not)
1956: 7-0 (also beat Georgia in Louisville)
1957: 7-0
1958: 7-0
1959: 7-0
1960: 5-2
1961: 7-0
1962: 6-1
1963: 4-3
1964: 7-0
1965: 7-1
1966: 8-0
1967: 5-3
1968: 8-0
1969: 9-0
1970: 9-0
1971: 9-0
1972: 9-0

Not only does Calipari have the best mark of any UK coach at Rupp Arena...it's even better than Adolph Rupp's home SEC record at Memorial Coliseum (150-12, 92.6%) and only a little bit behind Rupp's home SEC record at Alumni Gym (an absurd 71-2, 97.3%).

Rupp's overall home SEC record was 221-14 (94%).

The longest home winning streaks in college basketball history (and UK history)

(updated through 3/3/17)

Kentucky is the winningest program in college basketball history, and have been immensely successful at home.  Now and then, you'll hear about a school like Kansas racking up another long home streak.  But no one ever comes close to UK's all-time NCAA record of 129 home wins in a row.

On January 2nd, 1943, UK lost in Alumni Gym to Ohio State.  They went on to play 84 more home games at Alumni, the last in February, 1950.  ALL were wins.

Then they moved into Memorial Coliseum, and the streak continued.  45 MORE wins, for a total of 129.  They didn't lose until January 8th, 1955, against conference foe (at that time) Georgia Tech.  And it was a narrow 1-point defeat!

That's right.  Twelve years and six days without a home loss.  It's unlikely to ever be topped.

Longest home winning streaks in NCAA history:

1) Kentucky - 129 games (1943-1955, ended by Georgia Tech)

2) St. Bonaventure - 99 games (1948-61, ended by Niagara).  

3) UCLA won 98 straight at home during their prime (1970-76, ended by Oregon).  That is the most recent streak of 80+ games.

4) Cincinnati won 84 in a row at home, also during their heyday (1957-64, ended by Kansas).

5) (tie) Both Arizona (1945-51) and Marquette (1967-73) won 81 in a row at home.

Notes on other prominent schools:

- Kansas' longest streak at Allen Fieldhouse is 69 games (2007-11). 

- Duke's longest at Cameron Indoor is 46 (1997-2000), but they currently hold a 132-game winning streak in home non-conference games.  Most of those have come against garbage opponents, but I'll begrudgingly grant that it's a very impressive mark.

- Indiana's longest streak at Assembly Hall is 50 games.

Here are the longest home streaks in Kentucky history...

1) 129 games
Coach: Adolph Rupp
Venues: Alumni Gym (84 games) and Memorial Coliseum (45 games)
Loss that preceded it: 1/2/1943 vs. Ohio State
First win: 1/4/1943 vs. Fort Knox
Last win: 12/30/1954 vs. St. Louis
Loss that ended it: 1/8/1955 vs. Georgia Tech (59-58)
Highlights during the streak: Where to start?  This era was when UK basketball truly arrived on the scene.  Championships in 1948, 1949 and 1951.  Elite Eights in 1945 and 1952.  
Victories over blue bloods: North Carolina (1950), Kansas (1950), UCLA (1951), Duke (1953)

2) 54 games
Coach: John Calipari
Venue: Rupp Arena
Loss that preceded it: 3/4/2009 vs. Georgia (Senior Day)
First win: 11/13/2009 vs. Morehead State
Last win: 11/23/2012 vs. Long Island
Loss that ended it: 12/1/2012 vs. Baylor (64-55)
Highlights during the streak: 2012 National Champions, 2010 and 2011 Final Fours.  First college program to reach 2000 wins (vs. Drexel 12/21/09)
Victories over blue bloods: North Carolina (2009), Indiana (2010), North Carolina (2011)

3) 42 games
Coach: John Calipari
Venue: Rupp Arena
Loss that preceded it: 2/27/2014 vs. Arkansas
First win: 3/4/2014 vs. Alabama (Senior Day)
Last win: 11/25/2016 vs. Tennessee-Martin
Loss that ended it: 12/3/2016 vs. UCLA (97-92)
Highlights during the streak: 2014 Final Four, the near-undefeated 2015 season
Victories over blue bloods: North Carolina (2014)

4) 40 games (regular season, official home games only - 30 if you count tournament games)
Coach: Joe B. Hall
Venue: Rupp Arena
Loss that preceded it: 1/28/1980 vs. LSU
First win: 2/2/1980 vs. Tennessee
Last win: 1/5/1983 vs. LSU
Loss that ended it: 1/15/1983 vs. Auburn (75-67)
Important note about this streak: UK lost not once but TWICE at Rupp during this streak, but the losses were a 1980 NCAA Tournament game against Duke and the 1982 SEC Tournament Championship game against Alabama.  If you count those as home losses (which they weren't, officially), then the longest part of the streak was actually 30 games (between the Duke and Alabama games).

5) 39 games
Coach: Adolph Rupp
Venue: Alumni Gym
Loss that preceded it: 1/2/1933 vs. Ohio State
First win: 1/10/1933 vs. South Carolina
Last win: 2/21/1936 vs. Creighton
Loss that ended it: 2/22/1936 vs. Creighton (31-29, the day after beating the same team by 30 points)
Note about this streak: it began in the first season of Southeastern Conference play, at a time when Sewanee, Tulane and Georgia Tech were in the SEC

6) 30 games (regular season, official home games only - 33 if you count tournament games)
Coach: Rick Pitino
Venue: Rupp Arena
Loss that preceded it: 1/25/1992 vs. Arkansas
First win: 1/29/1992 vs. Ole Miss
Last win: 2/2/1994 vs. Alabama
Loss that ended it: 2/9/1994 vs. Arkansas (90-82)
Highlights during the streak: 1992 Elite Eight run by the Unforgettables, 1993 Final Four
Important note about this streak: UK also won the 1993 SEC Tournament at Rupp, which would add 3 games to the "Rupp streak" but not the "home streak."

What about Kentucky's home SEC streaks?

1) 69 games (1939-55) under Rupp - ended against Georgia Tech

2) 49 games (1967-73) under Rupp and Hall - ended against Vanderbilt

3) 33 games (1955-60) under Rupp - ended against Georgia Tech

4) 28 games (2014-present) under Calipari

5) 24 games (2010-13) under Calipari - ended against Texas A&M

6) (tie) 22 games (1980-82) under Hall, 22 games (1989-92) under Sutton and Pitino, 22 games (1999-2002) under Tubby

And finally, UK's non-conference home streaks?

1) 78 games (1943-55) under Rupp - ended against Georgia Tech

2) 39 games (1991-97) under Pitino - ended against Louisville

3) 36 games (2012-16) under Calipari - ended against UCLA

4) 34 games (2008-12) under Gillispie and Calipari - ended against Baylor

5) 29 games (1979-84) under Hall - ended against Southern Methodist

Which SEC opponents have won the most at Rupp Arena?

(updated through first 8 home games of 2017 SEC season)

Few visiting teams escape Rupp Arena with a victory.  UK has gone undefeated at home quite a number of times in their current confines, including:

Calipari:
2016
2015
2012
2011
2010

Tubby:
2005 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to KU)
2003 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to Michigan State)
2001 (undefeated at home in SEC play, lost to Penn State)
2000

Pitino:
1996
1993
1991
1990

Sutton:
1986

Hall:
1984
1982 (but did lose at Rupp in SEC Tournament)
1981
1978

But how have specific conference foes (and their coaches) fared?

Alabama: 5-23 in SEC regular season, 1-1 in SEC Tournament

2006 (Mark Gottfried vs. Tubby Smith) - won 68-64 (both were unranked)

2002 (Mark Gottfried vs. Tubby Smith) - won 64-61 (Bama was #14, UK was #8)

1989 (Wimp Sanderson vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 71-67 (both were unranked)

1987 (Wimp Sanderson vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 69-55 (UK was #9)

1980 (C.M. Newton vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 78-64 (UK was #4)

NOTE: They also won in 1982 SEC Championship in Rupp, and lost in 1986 SEC Championship.

Arkansas: 3-11 in SEC regular season, lost in 1993 SEC Tournament

2014 (Mike Anderson vs. John Calipari) - won 71-67 (OT) (UK was #17)

1994 (Nolan Richardson vs. Rick Pitino) - won 90-82 (Ark was #3, UK was #4)

1992 (Nolan Richardson vs. Rick Pitino) - won 105-88 (Ark was #9, UK was #8)

Auburn: 2-26 in SEC regular season, lost in 1982 SEC Tournament

1988 (Sonny Smith vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 53-52 (UK was #1)

1983 (Sonny Smith vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 75-67 (UK was #6)

Florida: 7-34 in SEC regular season

2014 (Billy Donovan vs. John Calipari) - won 69-59 (UF was #3, UK was #14)

2007 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 64-61 (UF was #1, UK was #20)

2006 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 79-64 (UF was #17, UK was unranked)

1998 (Billy Donovan vs. Tubby Smith) - won 86-78 (UK was #7)

1989 (Norman Sloan vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 59-53 (both were unranked)

1988 (Norman Sloan vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 58-56 (UK was #4)

1985 (Norman Sloan vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 67-55 (both were unranked)

Georgia: 4-35 in SEC regular season

2009 (Pete Herrmann vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 90-85 (both were unranked)

2004 (Dennis Felton vs. Tubby Smith) - won 65-57 (UK was #5)

2002 (Jim Harrick vs. Tubby Smith) - won 88-84 (UK was #8)

1985 (Hugh Durham vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 79-77 (UGA was #18, UK was unranked)

LSU: 5-24 in SEC regular season, 0-2 in SEC Tournament

2009 (Trent Johnson vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 73-70 (LSU was #18, UK was unranked)

1989 (Dale Brown vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 64-62 (both were unranked)

1987 (Dale Brown vs. Eddie Sutton) - won 76-41 (both were unranked)

1980 (Dale Brown vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 65-60 (LSU was #11, UK was #5)

1979 (Dale Brown vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 93-89 (UK was #9)

Mississippi: 1-27 in SEC regular season, 0-2 in SEC Tournament

1998 (Rob Evans vs. Tubby Smith) - won 73-64 (Miss was #18, UK was #7)

Mississippi State: 2-26 in SEC regular season

2009 (Rick Stansbury vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 66-57 (both were unranked)

1995 (Richard Williams vs. Rick Pitino) - won 76-71 (MSU was #23, UK was #4)

Missouri: 0-3 in SEC regular season
none

South Carolina: 2-22 in SEC regular season, 0-2 before joining SEC

2009 (Darrin Horn vs. Billy Gillispie) - won 78-77 (UK was #24)

1997 (Eddie Fogler vs. Rick Pitino) - won 72-66 (USC was #6, UK was #3)

Tennessee: 4-36 in SEC regular season, lost 101-40 in 1993 SEC Tournament

2006 (Bruce Pearl vs. Tubby Smith) - won 75-67 (UT was #11, UK was unranked)

1999 (Jerry Green vs. Tubby Smith) - won 47-46 (UK was #6)

1979 (Don DeVoe vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 66-55 (both were unranked)

1977 (Ray Mears vs. Joe B. Hall) - won 71-67 (OT) (UK was #2)

Texas A&M: 1-2 in SEC regular season, won at Rupp pre-SEC in 1978

2013 (Billy Kennedy vs. John Calipari) - won 83-71 (both were unranked)

Vanderbilt: 2-36 in SEC regular season

2007 (Kevin Stallings vs. Tubby Smith) - won 72-67 (UK was #25)

2006 (Kevin Stallings vs. Tubby Smith) - won 57-52 (both were unranked)


So, the teams with the most SEC regular season wins at Rupp:

1) Florida - 7

2) Alabama and LSU - 5

And the teams with the best winning percentage...

1) Texas A&M: 33% (1-2)

2) Arkansas: 21% (3-11)

3) Alabama: 18% (5-23)

And the most successful coaches?

1) Dale Brown.  4 wins (but 14 losses).

2) Billy Donovan.  4 wins (but 15 losses).

3) Norman Sloan.  3 wins (but 6 losses).