# 1989–90 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1989–90 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky in the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Rick Pitino and the team finished the season with an overall record of 14–14. Coming off the controversy of the Eddie Sutton scandal, the NCAA banned the Kentucky Wildcats from television for one season. The NCAA sanctions placed on the program would also ban any postseason competition for two years and a three-year probational period. Pitino knew this and still took the challenge of making this team successful despite the many deficient parts of the program.
Coming off a decent season in the NBA with the Knicks, Pitino missed the college experience and felt that Kentucky would be the most interesting choice. Pitino was reportedly offered six million dollars for a seven-year contract with Kentucky. Coming into the new season, not all of Kentucky's players were completely committed to playing due to the program being in shambles. Some players were reported to have skipped class or not put forth 100% effort into practices. Ironically, the students that did not compete were focusing more on their grades so they could graduate. Despite Rick Pitino's intense coaching effort, the season included many difficult moments for the Wildcats, including a 150–95 loss to Kansas (which is the largest margin of defeat in Kentucky history). Despite all these obstacles, the Wildcats finished with a respectable .500 record, and Pitino was named SEC Coach of the Year (for the first of three times) for guiding Kentucky to a 10–8 record in conference and was named the Basketball Times National Coach of the Year in 1990.

## Personnel

In the wake of the previous season's alleged scandal, Pitino brought in new assistant coaches. One of which was a close friend of his, Ralph Willard. He would leave the New York Knicks to follow Pitino to Kentucky. Tubby Smith left his position as assistant coach at the University of South Carolina to pursue his new career at the University of Kentucky. Herb Sendek was also brought in as an assistant coach. Sendek had previously served as a graduate assistant to Pitino at Providence College. Pitino brought in Billy Donovan as the graduate assistant coach. This would be after a short career on Wall Street and a stint playing in the Continental Basketball Association.

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 28, 1989* | Ohio | W 76–73 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 2, 1989* | No. 14 Indiana Rivalry | L 69–71 | 1–1 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| December 4, 1989 | Mississippi State | W 102–97 | 2–1 (1–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 6, 1989* | Tennessee Tech | W 111–75 | 3–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 9, 1989* | at No. 2 Kansas | L 95–150 | 3–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| December 19, 1989* | Furman | W 104–73 | 4–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 22, 1989* | Portland | W 88–71 | 5–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 23, 1989* | Southwestern Louisiana | L 113–116 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| December 27, 1989* | No. 24 North Carolina | L 110–121 | 5–4 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| December 30, 1989* | No. 8 Louisville | L 79–86 | 5–5 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 3, 1990 | at Georgia | L 91–106 | 5–6 (1–1) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| January 6, 1990 | at Vanderbilt | L 85–92 | 5–7 (1–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| January 10, 1990 | Florida | W 89–81 | 6–7 (2–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 13, 1990 | at No. 14 LSU | L 81–94 | 6–8 (2–3) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| January 17, 1990 | No. 25 Alabama | W 82–65 | 7–8 (3–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 20, 1990 | Tennessee | W 95–83 | 8–8 (4–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 24, 1990 | at Auburn | L 70–74 | 8–9 (4–4) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 27, 1990 | Ole Miss | W 98–79 | 9–9 (5–4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 31, 1990 | at Mississippi State | L 86–87 | 9–10 (5–5) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| February 3, 1990 | Georgia | W 88–77 | 10–10 (6–5) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 7, 1990 | Vanderbilt | W 100–73 | 11–10 (7–5) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 12, 1990 | at Florida | W 78–74 | 12–10 (8–5) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| February 15, 1990 | No. 9 LSU | W 100–95 | 13–10 (9–5) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 17, 1990 | at Alabama | L 58–83 | 13–11 (9–6) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 21, 1990 | at Tennessee | L 100–102 | 13–12 (9–7) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| February 24, 1990 | Auburn | W 98–95 | 14–12 (10–7) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 28, 1990 | Ole Miss | L 74–88 | 14–13 (10–8) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| March 5, 1990 | at Notre Dame | L 67–80 | 14–14 | Joyce Center South Bend, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. ||||||