# 2001–02 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2001–02 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tubby Smith and the team finished the season with an overall record of 22–10.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2000–01 season 24–10, 12–4 in SEC play to finish first in the SEC East. In the SEC tournament, the Wildcats defeated South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball in the quarterfinals, Arkansas in the semifinals, and Ole Miss in the SEC Championship Game. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the East region, they defeated No. 15 Holy Cross and No. 7 Iowa to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There, they lost to No. 6-seeded USC.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason left |
| Saul Smith | 11 | Guard | 6'2" | 175 | Senior | Athens, GA | Graduated |
| Todd Tackett | 12 | Guard | 6'2" | 176 | Junior | Paintsville, KY | Left team |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 6, 2001* 7:30 pm | No. 4 | Nike Elite | W 107–80 | – | 19 – Bogans | 13 – Hayes | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (16,361) Lexington, KY |
| November 11, 2001* 7:30 pm | No. 4 | Athletes in Action | W 88–83 $^{OT}$ | – | 19 – Prince | 7 – Bogans | 3 – Bogans | Rupp Arena (16,036) Lexington, KY |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 15, 2001* 8:00 pm, Fox Sports Ohio | No. 4 | Western Kentucky NABC Classic | L 52–64 | 0–1 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Bogans | 2 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (21,104) Lexington, KY |
| November 16, 2001* 6:00 pm, Fox Sports Ohio | No. 4 | Marshall NABC Classic | W 90–73 | 1–1 | 22 – Bogans | 10 – Hayes | 5 – Bogans | Rupp Arena (16,193) Lexington, KY |
| November 24, 2001* 8:00 pm, UKTV | No. 10 | Morehead State | W 90–73 | 2–1 | 23 – Prince | 7 – Stone | 6 – Bogans | Rupp Arena (19,774) Lexington, KY |
| November 28, 2001* 8:00 pm, UKTV | No. 13 | Kent State | W 82–68 | 3–1 | 19 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 6 – Hawkins | Firstar Center (10,352) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 5, 2001* 7:30 pm, UKTV | No. 10 | VMI | W 99–57 | 4–1 | 21 – Prince | 10 – Prince | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (18,077) Lexington, KY |
| December 8, 2001* 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | North Carolina | W 79–59 | 5–1 | 31 – Prince | 11 – Prince | 4 – Prince | Rupp Arena (23,153) Lexington, KY |
| December 15, 2001* 1:00 pm, UKTV | No. 9 | Kentucky State | W 118–63 | 6–1 | 21 – Estill | 7 – Estill | 8 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (18,500) Lexington, KY |
| December 18, 2001* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | vs. No. 1 Duke Jimmy V Classic | L 92–95 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 | 19 – Carruth | 11 – Camara | 3 – Tied | Continental Airlines Arena (18,500) East Rutherford, NJ |
| December 22, 2001* 5:00 pm, CBS | No. 7 | vs. Indiana | W 66–52 | 7–2 | 17 – Tied | 11 – Prince | 5 – Hawkins | RCA Dome (29,379) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 29, 2001* 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 6 | Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass | W 82–62 | 8–2 | 18 – Prince | 9 – Prince | 5 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (24,330) Lexington, KY |
| January 2, 2002* 8:00 pm, UKTV | No. 6 | Tulane | W 101–67 | 9–2 | 22 – Prince | 10 – Fitch | 5 – Hawkins | Freedom Hall (16,011) Louisville, KY |
| January 5, 2002 2:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 6 | at Mississippi State | L 69–74 | 9–3 (0–1) | 18 – Prince | 8 – Fitch | 10 – Hawkins | Humphrey Coliseum (9,347) Starkville, MS |
| January 9, 2002 7:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | Georgia | L 84–88 | 9–4 (0–2) | 16 – Camara | 6 – Tied | 5 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (21,707) Lexington, KY |
| January 12, 2002 1:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | at South Carolina | W 51–50 | 10–4 (1–2) | 11 – Fitch | 8 – Estill | 4 – Chiles | Frank McGuire Arena (12,097) Columbia, SC |
| January 15, 2002 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | Ole Miss | W 87–64 | 11–4 (2–2) | 19 – Prince | 11 – Fitch | 6 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (20,540) Lexington, KY |
| January 19, 2002* 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 12 | at Notre Dame | W 72–65 | 12–4 (2–2) | 23 – Bogans | 5 – Tied | 6 – Hawkins | Joyce Center (11,418) South Bend, IN |
| January 22, 2002 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | at Auburn | W 69–62 | 13–4 (3–2) | 21 – Estill | 8 – Daniels | 4 – Bogans | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (10,500) Auburn, AL |
| January 26, 2002 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 14 Alabama | L 61–64 | 13–5 (3–3) | 14 – Prince | 8 – Fitch | 3 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (23,544) Lexington, KY |
| January 29, 2002 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at No. 5 Florida | W 69–62 | 14–5 (4–3) | 20 – Bogans | 10 – Prince | 4 – Bogans | O'Connell Center (12,212) Gainesville, FL |
| February 2, 2002 1:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 8 | South Carolina | W 91–74 | 15–5 (5–3) | 17 – Fitch | 9 – Fitch | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (21,731) Lexington, KY |
| February 6, 2002 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | at Tennessee | L 74–76 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (5–4) | 22 – Prince | 7 – Tied | 4 – Hawkins | Thompson-Boling Arena (17,260) Knoxville, TN |
| February 9, 2002 1:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 7 | at LSU | W 68–56 | 16–6 (6–4) | 18 – Prince | 8 – Fitch | 9 – Hawkins | Maravich Center (8,549) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 13, 2002 7:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 10 | Vanderbilt | W 67–59 | 17–6 (7–4) | 20 – Prince | 7 – Estill | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,173) Lexington, KY |
| February 16, 2002 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 10 | at No. 21 Georgia | L 69–78 | 17–7 (7–5) | 17 – Tied | 7 – Estill | 5 – Bogans | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| February 19, 2002 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | Tennessee | W 64–61 | 18–7 (8–5) | 17 – Camara | 8 – Camara | 3 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (20,662) Lexington, KY |
| February 23, 2002 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 12 | Arkansas | W 71–58 | 19–7 (9–5) | 16 – Prince | 10 – Prince | 5 – Hawkins | Rupp Arena (22,109) Lexington, KY |
| February 27, 2002 8:00 pm, JP Sports | No. 11 | at Vanderbilt | L 73–86 | 19–8 (9–6) | 24 – Prince | 9 – Camara | 6 – Hawkins | Memorial Gymnasium (14,168) Nashville |
| March 2, 2002 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | No. 8 Florida | W 70–67 | 20–8 (10–6) | 13 – Prince | 7 – Camara | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (23,606) Lexington, KY |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2002 9:45 pm, JP Sports | (2 E) No. 12 | vs. (6 E) South Carolina SEC Tournament quarterfinals | L 57–70 | 20–9 | 13 – Bogans | 13 – Hayes | 2 – Tied | Georgia Dome (22,508) Atlanta, GA |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2002* 12:25 pm, CBS | (4 E) No. 16 | vs. (13 E) Valparaiso First Round | W 83–68 | 21–9 | 21 – Bogans | 6 – Bogans | 4 – Hawkins | Edward Jones Dome (25,251) St. Louis, MO |
| March 16, 2002* 5:30 pm, CBS | (4 E) No. 16 | vs. (12 E) Tulsa Second Round | W 87–82 | 22–9 | 41 – Prince | 9 – Prince | 4 – Tied | Edward Jones Dome (31,484) St. Louis, MO |
| March 22, 2002* 9:55 pm, CBS | (4 E) No. 16 | vs. (1 E) No. 4 Maryland Sweet Sixteen | L 68–78 | 22–10 | 17 – Prince | 8 – Camara | 7 – Hawkins | Carrier Dome (29,633) Syracuse, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||