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

Longest Winning Streaks in Kentucky Basketball History

(updated through 2016)

In Kentucky's storied history, they have won 8 national titles, reached 17 Final Fours and won more games than any other school.  Many of those wins have come consecutively...and here are their longest streaks of all time.  As you would expect, most if not all of these streaks occurred during either national championship seasons or years when they absolutely SHOULD have won the whole thing, with #1 being the most painful example.

1) 38 games during the 2014-2015 season.

Coach: John Calipari

Leading scorer during the season: Aaron Harrison

Loss before it began: 60-54 to Connecticut in National Title Game, 4/7/14

First win: 85-45 over Grand Canyon at Rupp Arena, 11/14/14

Notable victories in streak: #5 Kansas (by 32 points), #6 Texas, #21 North Carolina, UCLA (by 39 points), at #4 Louisville, won 28th SEC Tournament title over #21 Arkansas

Last win: 68-66 over Notre Dame in the Midwest Regional Final, 3/28/15

Loss to end the streak: 71-64 to Wisconsin in a National Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, 4/4/15

Ranking: #1 pre-season, finished as national semifinalists.

Notes: UK became the first power conference team to finish a regular season undefeated since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, and only team other than Wichita State in 2014 to enter NCAA tournament 34-0.  They are the first team to ever start a season 38-0, surpassing Wichita State's 35-0.  Alas, the perfect season was not to be...and it was made ten times worse when Duke stole the 2015 title.

2) 32 games over 2 seasons (1953-54 and 1954-55).

Coach: Adolph Rupp

Leading scorer during the season: Cliff Hagan

Loss before it began: 64-57 to St. John's in the Elite Eight, 3/22/52.

First win: 86-59 over Temple at Memorial Coliseum, 12/5/53.

Notable victories in streak: #13 Duke, #16 LaSalle, #8 Minnesota, #8 LSU in SEC playoff to end 1954 season, #2 Utah and #4 LaSalle in the following season

Last win: 101-69 at Temple, 1/1/55

Loss to end the streak: 59-58 to Georgia Tech at Memorial Coliseum, 1/8/55

Ranking: #2 at start, #1 at end

Notes: The 1953-54 season remains UK's only undefeated year.  It followed a year in which there was no Kentucky basketball, due to the infamous point-shaving scandal.  The 25-0 Wildcats did not play in the postseason because of a rule preventing graduate students from participating.  The following season, they extended the streak to 32 games.  The loss to Georgia Tech is equally significant for ending UK's 129-game home winning streak, which still stands as the NCAA record.  They hadn't lost a home game in more than 12 years - since falling to Ohio State at Alumni Gym on January 2nd, 1943.

3) 27 games during the 1995-1996 season.

Coach: Rick Pitino

Leading scorer during the season: Tony Delk

Loss before it began: 92-82 to #5 Massachusetts in Great Eight at Auburn Hills, Michigan on 11/28/95.

First win: 89-82 over Indiana at Indianapolis, 12/2/95

Notable victories in streak: #16 Georgia Tech (by 23 points), #25 Louisville (by 23 points), at #12 Mississippi State (by 18 points)

Loss to end the streak: 84-73 to #25 Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament Championship game at New Orleans, 3/10/96.  Dontae Jones scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.  His better-known teammate Erick Dampier actually contributed very little to the upset, going 2 for 11 from the field.  Tony Delk was ice cold, shooting 5 of 19.

Ranking: #1 at start and end (fell to #5 in first poll after the UMass loss, back to #1 in late February)

Notes: Went on to win school's 6th national title, and defeated UMass in the Final Four along the way.  

4) 26 games during the 2002-2003 season.

Coach: Tubby Smith

Leading scorer during the season: Keith Bogans

Loss before it began: 81-63 at unranked Louisville, 12/28/02.  Fell to a record of 6-3 at the time.

First win: 115-87 over Tennessee State at Rupp Arena on 12/30/02.  

Notable victories in streak: #10 Notre Dame (by 15 points), at #15 Alabama (by 17), #1 Florida (by 15), #3 Florida on Senior Night, won SEC Tournament, beat Wisconsin in Sweet 16

Loss to end the streak: 83-69 to Marquette in the Elite Eight at Minneapolis, 3/29/03.  Dwyane Wade had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.  Keith Bogans scored 15 points in spite of suffering a high ankle sprain in the Sweet 16.  

Ranking: #20 at start, #1 at end

Notes: This was probably Tubby Smith's best team, but Bogans' injury was ill-timed and they ran into a future NBA star.

5) 26 games over 2 seasons (1945-46 and 1946-47).

Coach: Adolph Rupp

Leading scorer during the season: Alex Groza

Loss before it began: 56-47 to Notre Dame at Louisville (Jefferson County Armory) on 1/26/46

First win: 54-26 over Georgia Tech at Alumni Gym, 1/28/46

Notable victories in streak: Michigan State, won SEC Tournament, won NIT over Arizona/West Virginia/Rhode Island, DePaul, St. John's

Loss to end the streak: 37-31 to Oklahoma A&M at Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) 12/30/46.  

Rankings: N/A

Notes: Stars like Groza, Jones, Beard and Barker went on to win championships for Rupp.

The rest of the top ten....

6) 25 wins in 1965-66, ended with loss at Tennessee.

7) 24 wins in 2011-12, ended with loss to Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament Championship Game.

8) 24 wins in 1932-33 and 1933-34, ended with loss to Florida in first round of the second-ever SEC Tournament.

9) 23 wins in 1951-52, ended with loss to St. John's in Elite Eight.  After this loss, they won 32 more games in a row (see #1 on this list).

10) 21 wins in 1950-51, ended with loss to Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament Championship Game.

10) 21 wins in 1948-49, ended with loss to Loyola in NIT, but they subsequently won the NCAA Championship.

Is it bad to enter the NCAA tournament on a long winning streak? Yes.

(updated through 2016 tournament)

In the 32 NCAA tournaments of the six-round era, which began in 1985:

- 16 champions (50%) lost their final pre-tournament game, including the last 3 in a row

- 26 champions (81%) entered with a winning streak of five or fewer games

The only exceptions:

1986 Louisville - won 11 entering tournament, 17 in a row overall

1992 Duke - won 7 entering tournament, 13 overall

1995 UCLA - won 20 entering tournament, 26 overall

1998 Kentucky - won 7 entering tournament, 13 overall

2008 Kansas - won 7 entering tournament, 13 overall

2013 Louisville - won 10 entering tournament, 16 overall

The longest single-season winning streak to fall during a tournament?

2015 Kentucky - 38 in a row

In the earlier years of the NCAA tournament (pre-1985), an era of significantly less parity, long winning streaks were much more common among champions:

1941 Wisconsin - won 14 in a row to end the season

1943 Wyoming - won 29 in a row to end the season

1948 Kentucky - won 16 in a row to end the season

1955 San Francisco - won 25 in a row to end the season

1956 San Francisco - went undefeated, 29-0 (so this was a 54-game streak overall)

1957 UNC - went undefeated, 32-0

1961 Cincinnati - won 22 in a row to end the season

1962 Cincinnati - won 18 in a row to end the season

1964 UCLA - went undefeated, 30-0

1965 UCLA - won 15 in a row to end the season

1967 UCLA - went undefeated, 30-0 (so this was a 45-game streak overall)

1968 UCLA - won 16 in a row to end the season

1971 UCLA - won 15 in a row to end the season

1972 UCLA - went undefeated, 30-0 (so this was a 45-game streak overall)

1973 UCLA  - went undefeated, 30-0 (so this was a 75-game streak overall)

1974 NC State - won 28 in a row to end the season

1976 IU - went undefeated, 32-0

1978 UK - won 13 in a row to end the season

1982 UNC - won 16 in a row to end the season

1984 Georgetown - won 12 in a row to end the season


So the answer to the question posed in the post title would, statistically, be yes.  It's been rare for teams to keep momentum all the way through March and April, especially since the tournament expanded to six rounds.

Kentucky's longest winning streaks

After their gutsy win in Starkville, our Cats are now 27-1, and riding the nation's longest winning streak (19 games).

That's tied for the 8th longest single-season winning streak in school history.  The 2009-2010 team also won 19 in a row (to start the season) before falling at South Carolina in late January.

UK's top single-season winning streaks:
1) 27 games (1995-96 - ended with a loss to MSU in the SEC tournament final)
2) 26 (2002-03 - lost to Marquette in NCAA Elite 8)
3) 25 (1953-54 - went undefeated that season)
4) 23 (1965-66 - lost at Tennessee in March)
4) 23 (1951-52 - lost to St. John's in NCAA regional final)
6) 21 (1950-51 - lost to Vanderbilt in SEC tournament final)
6) 21 (1948-49 - lost to Loyola Chicago in NIT, then won the NCAA tournament)
8) 19 (2009-10 - lost at South Carolina in January)
8) 19 (2011-12 - still active)

UK's top overall winning streaks:
1) 32 games (25 in 1953-54, 7 in 1954-55, lost at home to Georgia Tech to end it)
2) 27 (1995-96)
3) 26 (2002-03)
3) 26 (15 in 1945-46, 11 in 1946-47, lost to Oklahoma A&M in the Sugar Bowl)
5) 25 (2 in 1964-65, 23 in 1965-66)
6) 24 (16 in 1947-48, 8 in 1948-49, lost to St. Louis in the Sugar Bowl Championship)
6) 24 (8 in 1932-33, 16 in 1933-34, lost to Florida in the SEC tournament)
8) 23 (1951-52)
9) 21 (1950-51)
9) 21 (1948-49)
11) 19 (2009-10)
11) 19 (2011-12, still active)

UK's final winning streaks in title seasons:
1947-48 = 16 games
1948-49 = 3
1950-51 = 5
1957-58 = 5
1977-78 = 13
1995-96 = 6
1997-98 = 13