# 2018–19 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 43rd consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,500. The Wildcats, led by John Calipari in his 10th season as head coach, played in the Southeastern Conference.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017–18 season 26–11, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth. In the SEC tournament, the Wildcats defeated Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to win the tournament championship for the 31st time in school history. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 5 seed in the South region, they defeated No. 12 Davidson and No. 13 Buffalo to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There, they lost to No. 9-seeded Kansas State.

## Offseason
### Departures

On April 2, 2018, Tai Wynyard announced that he would be transferring from Kentucky. On April 6, Kevin Knox II announced that he would declare for the 2018 NBA draft and would hire an agent, forgoing his remaining eligibility. On April 9, Sacha Killeya-Jones announced he would be transferring as well. Also, on April 9, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander announced that he would declare for the draft and would be hiring an agent, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility. On April 16, Hamidou Diallo also announced that he would declare for the draft and hire an agent. Three other players announced their entry in the draft, but did not initially hire agents, giving them the option to return to Kentucky. P. J. Washington declared for the draft on April 3, followed by Wenyen Gabriel on April 18 and Jarred Vanderbilt on April 20. On May 30, 2018, the NCAA's final day to announce a return, Washington announced he would return for a sophomore season. Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel announced on May 30, 2018, that they would remain in the 2018 NBA Draft and forgo their remaining college eligibility.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason left |
| Tai Wynyard | 14 | Forward | 6'10" | 255 | Sophomore | Auckland, New Zealand | Transferred to Santa Clara |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 22 | Guard | 6'6" | 171 | Freshman | Hamilton, Ontario | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Kevin Knox II | 5 | Forward | 6'9" | 215 | Freshman | Tampa, Florida | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Sacha Killeya-Jones | 1 | Forward | 6'10" | 221 | Sophomore | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Transferred to NC State |
| Dillon Pulliam | 30 | Guard | 6'3" | 195 | Junior | Cynthiana, Kentucky | Graduated and transferred to Carnegie Mellon |
| Hamidou Diallo | 3 | Guard | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | Queens, New York | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Jarred Vanderbilt | 2 | Forward | 6'9" | 214 | Freshman | Houston, Texas | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Wenyen Gabriel | 32 | Forward | 6'9" | 205 | Sophomore | Manchester, New Hampshire | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Quade Green | 0 | Guard | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Washington mid-season |

### 2018 recruiting class

Immanuel Quickley, from Havre de Grace, Maryland, was the first commitment to Kentucky's 2018 class. He committed to Kentucky on September 22, over offers from Kansas and Miami. He was a consensus five-star prospect and was ranked the consensus No. 12 overall player by the four main recruiting services. The Wildcats' second 2018 commitment was Keldon Johnson, a small forward from South Hill, Virginia, who committed on November 11. Kentucky beat out Maryland, NC State, and Texas for Johnson's signature. He was also a consensus five-star prospect and ranked by ESPN as its No. 7 overall prospect. Tyler Herro was the third commitment for Kentucky's 2018 class. Formerly committed to Wisconsin, Herro committed to Kentucky the week after his official visit. Herro was a consensus four-star prospect and was ranked the No. 4 shooting guard in the 2018 class by ESPN. E.J. Montgomery was the fourth commitment for Kentucky's 2018 class. Formerly committed to Auburn, he re-opened his recruitment after the Auburn staff was implicated in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal. Montgomery committed to Kentucky on April 9, 2018. Montgomery was a five-star prospect and was ranked No. 12 in the 2018 class. On April 10, 2018, Ashton Hagans committed to the University of Kentucky over offers from Georgia and North Carolina. Hagans was originally the second commitment in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 1 ranked point guard in the class of 2019 by 247 sports. On June 15, 2018, Hagans announced that he would be reclassifying into the 2018 class and play for the Cats in the upcoming season, thus making him the fifth recruit in the class of 2018.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ashton Hagans PG | Covington, GA | Newton High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 10, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Tyler Herro SG | Milwaukee, WI | Whitnall High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Keldon Johnson SF | South Hill, VA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 11, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| E. J. Montgomery PF | Marietta, GA | Joseph Wheeler High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 9, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Immanuel Quickley PG | Havre de Grace, MD | John Carroll School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 22, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: No. 2 Rivals: No. 2 247Sports: No. 2 ESPN: No. 2 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017. "2018 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017. "2018 Kentucky Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017. ||||||

### Incoming transfers

On June 20, 2018, Reid Travis announced that he would transfer to Kentucky. Travis was a two-time first team All-Pac-12 for Stanford and averaged 19.5 PPG and 8.7 RPG in his final year with the Cardinal. As a grad transfer, he is eligible to play immediately.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Reid Travis | 22 | F | 6'8" | 245 | Graduate Student | Minneapolis, MN | Stanford |

## Roster

* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Reid Travis | Nick Richards | |
| PF | P. J. Washington | E. J. Montgomery | |
| SF | Keldon Johnson | Jemarl Baker | Zan Payne |
| SG | Tyler Herro | Jonny David | |
| PG | Ashton Hagans | Immanuel Quickley | Brad Calipari |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Big Blue Bahamas exhibition trip |||||||||
| August 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Bahamas National Team | W 85–61 | – | 19 – Richards | 14 – Travis | 5 – Green | Imperial Arena Nassau, BAH |
| August 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | | vs. San Lorenzo de Almagro | W 91–68 | – | 22 – Herro | 7 – Quickley | 5 – Quickley | Imperial Arena Nassau, BAH |
| August 11, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Mega Bemax | W 100–64 | – | 20 – Washington | 12 – Washington | 5 – Tied | Imperial Arena Nassau, BAH |
| August 12, 2018* 4:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Team Toronto | W 93–60 | – | 19 – Travis | 15 – Travis | 4 – Quickley | Imperial Arena Nassau, BAH |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 26, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 2 | Transylvania | W 94–66 | – | 14 – Montgomery | 10 – Travis | 4 – Quickley | Rupp Arena (19,927) Lexington, KY |
| November 2, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 2 | IUP | W 86–64 | – | 22 – Travis | 14 – Travis | 5 – Johnson | Rupp Arena (20,095) Lexington, KY |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | vs. No. 4 Duke Champions Classic | L 84–118 | 0–1 | 23 – Johnson | 9 – Herro | 5 – Herro | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,907) Indianapolis, IN |
| November 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 2 | Southern Illinois | W 71–59 | 1–1 | 15 – Tied | 19 – Richards | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,277) Lexington, KY |
| November 14, 2018* 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 10 | North Dakota Ohio Valley Hardwood Showcase | W 96–58 | 2–1 | 25 – Washington | 10 – Johnson | 5 – Green | Rupp Arena (18,555) Lexington, KY |
| November 18, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 10 | VMI Ohio Valley Hardwood Showcase | W 92–82 | 3–1 | 22 – Travis | 18 – Washington | 4 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (20,207) Lexington, KY |
| November 21, 2018* 1:00 pm, SECN | No. 10 | Winthrop Ohio Valley Hardwood Showcase | W 87–74 | 4–1 | 19 – Washington | 11 – Washington | 7 – Herro | Rupp Arena (20,070) Lexington, KY |
| November 23, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 10 | Tennessee State Ohio Valley Hardwood Showcase | W 77–62 | 5–1 | 27 – Johnson | 9 – Travis | 4 – Green | Rupp Arena (20,224) Lexington, KY |
| November 28, 2018* 8:30 pm, SECN | No. 10 | Monmouth | W 90–44 | 6–1 | 16 – Herro | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (18,680) Lexington, KY |
| December 1, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 10 | UNC Greensboro | W 78–61 | 7–1 | 22 – Travis | 12 – Travis | 3 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (21,853) Lexington, KY |
| December 8, 2018* 12:00 pm, FOX | No. 9 | vs. Seton Hall Citi Hoops Classic | L 83–84 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | 26 – Washington | 12 – Washington | 4 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (10,244) New York, NY |
| December 15, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | Utah | W 88–61 | 8–2 | 24 – Johnson | 5 – Montgomery | 7 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (21,922) Lexington, KY |
| December 22, 2018* 5:15 pm, CBS | No. 19 | vs. No. 9 North Carolina CBS Sports Classic/Rivalry | W 80–72 | 9–2 | 23 – Johnson | 9 – Washington | 8 – Washington | United Center Chicago, IL |
| December 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass | W 71–58 | 10–2 | 24 – Herro | 8 – Washington | 3 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (20,882) Louisville, KY |
| January 5, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Alabama | L 75–77 | 10–3 (0–1) | 15 – Washington | 7 – Tied | 6 – Hagans | Coleman Coliseum (12,424) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 8, 2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 18 | Texas A&M | W 85–74 | 11–3 (1–1) | 21 – Herro | 6 – Johnson | 4 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (22,048) Lexington, KY |
| January 12, 2019 8:30 pm, SECN | No. 18 | Vanderbilt | W 56–47 | 12–3 (2–1) | 15 – Tied | 12 – Travis | 4 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (22,504) Lexington, KY |
| January 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at Georgia | W 69–49 | 13–3 (3–1) | 23 – Hagans | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| January 19, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 14 Auburn | W 82–80 | 14–3 (4–1) | 20 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 6 – Hagans | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 22 Mississippi State | W 76–55 | 15–3 (5–1) | 21 – Washington | 12 – Travis | 9 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (21,449) Lexington, KY |
| January 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 9 Kansas Big 12/SEC Challenge/ESPN College GameDay | W 71–63 | 16–3 | 20 – Washington | 13 – Washington | 7 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (24,387) Lexington, KY |
| January 29, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Vanderbilt | W 87–52 | 17–3 (6–1) | 26 – Washington | 12 – Washington | 8 – Hagans | Memorial Gymnasium (12,298) Nashville, TN |
| February 2, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Florida Rivalry | W 65–54 | 18–3 (7–1) | 19 – Herro | 12 – Washington | 4 – Hagans | O'Connell Center (10,763) Gainesville, FL |
| February 5, 2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | South Carolina | W 76–48 | 19–3 (8–1) | 20 – Washington | 13 – Montgomery | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,496) Lexington, KY |
| February 9, 2019 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 5 | at Mississippi State | W 71–67 | 20–3 (9–1) | 23 – Washington | 8 – Travis | 9 – Hagans | Humphrey Coliseum (9,019) Starkville, MS |
| February 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 19 LSU | L 71–73 | 20–4 (9–2) | 20 – Washington | 9 – Tied | 4 – Herro | Rupp Arena (23,490) Lexington, KY |
| February 16, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 1 Tennessee Rivalry/ESPN College GameDay | W 86–69 | 21–4 (10–2) | 23 – Washington | 13 – Herro | 7 – Hagans | Rupp Arena (24,467) Lexington, KY |
| February 19, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | at Missouri | W 66–58 | 22–4 (11–2) | 18 – Tied | 8 – Washington | 3 – Washington | Mizzou Arena (10,703) Columbia, MO |
| February 23, 2019 1:30 pm, CBS | No. 4 | Auburn | W 80–53 | 23–4 (12–2) | 24 – Washington | 17 – Johnson | 5 – Tied | Rupp Arena (23,427) Lexington, KY |
| February 26, 2019 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 4 | Arkansas | W 70–66 | 24–4 (13–2) | 29 – Herro | 15 – Richards | 6 – Washington | Rupp Arena (21,998) Lexington, KY |
| March 2, 2019 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 4 | at No. 7 Tennessee Rivalry | L 52–71 | 24–5 (13–3) | 13 – Washington | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,729) Knoxville, TN |
| March 5, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | at Ole Miss | W 80–76 | 25–5 (14–3) | 22 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | 4 – Washington | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| March 9, 2019 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 6 | Florida Rivalry | W 66–57 | 26–5 (15–3) | 16 – Herro | 9 – Washington | 3 – Johnson | Rupp Arena (24,456) Lexington, KY |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2019 7:00 pm, SECN | (2) No. 4 | vs. (10) Alabama Quarterfinals | W 73–55 | 27–5 | 20 – Herro | 12 – Washington | 6 – Hagans | Bridgestone Arena (37,250) Nashville, TN |
| March 16, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 4 | vs. (3) No. 8 Tennessee Semifinals | L 78–82 | 27–6 | 16 – Washington | 6 – Tied | 12 – Hagans | Bridgestone Arena (20,933) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2019* 7:10 pm, CBS | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (15 MW) Abilene Christian First Round | W 79–44 | 28–6 | 25 – Johnson | 11 – Montgomery | 4 – Hagans | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (13,495) Jacksonville, FL |
| March 23, 2019* 2:40 pm, CBS | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (7 MW) No. 19 Wofford Second Round | W 62–56 | 29–6 | 14 – Travis | 11 – Travis | 4 – Tied | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (14,250) Jacksonville, FL |
| March 29, 2019* 9:59 pm, TBS | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (3 MW) No. 11 Houston Sweet Sixteen | W 62–58 | 30–6 | 19 – Herro | 11 – Travis | 4 – Johnson | Sprint Center (17,385) Kansas City, MO |
| March 31, 2019* 2:20 pm, CBS | (2 MW) No. 7 | vs. (5 MW) No. 14 Auburn Elite Eight | L 71–77 $^{OT}$ | 30–7 | 28 – Washington | 13 – Washington | 6 – Herro | Sprint Center (17,174) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 2 (19) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 (3) | 6 | 4 | 7 | Not released |
| Coaches | 2 (12) | 2^ (12) | 10 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 (4) | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.