# 2012–13 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2012–13 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2012–13 college basketball season. The team's head coach was John Calipari, who was in his fourth season. They played their home games at Rupp Arena and were members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Vanderbilt. They were invited to the 2013 NIT where they lost in the first round to Robert Morris.

## Pre-season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Darius Miller | 1 | G | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Maysville, Kentucky | Graduated/Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Terrence Jones | 3 | F | 6'9" | 252 | Sophomore | Portland, Oregon | Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 14 | F | 6'7" | 232 | Freshman | Somerdale, New Jersey | Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Doron Lamb | 20 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Sophomore | Queens, New York | Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Anthony Davis | 23 | C | 6'10" | 220 | Freshman | Chicago, Illinois | Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Marquis Teague | 25 | G | 6'2" | 189 | Freshman | Indianapolis, Indiana | Entered 2012 NBA draft |
| Eloy Vargas | 30 | C | 6'11" | 244 | Senior | Moca, Dominican Republic | Graduated |

### Class of 2012 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Willie Cauley-Stein C | Spearville, Kansas | Olathe Northwest | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 31, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Archie Goodwin G | Sherwood, Arkansas | Sylvan Hills | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | Sep 20, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Nerlens Noel C | Everett, Massachusetts | Tilton School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 11, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Alex Poythress F | Clarksville, Tennessee | Northeast | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 10, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #1 Rivals: #1 ESPN: #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 2012 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2012 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. ||||||

### Class of 2013 commitments

US college sports recruiting information for 2013 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aaron Harrison SG | Richmond, Texas | Travis | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Oct 4, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 |||||||
| Andrew Harrison PG | Richmond, Texas | Travis | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 4, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Dakari Johnson C | New York, New York | Montverde | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 425 lb (193 kg) | Jan 5, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 |||||||
| Marcus Lee PF | Antioch, California | Deer Valley | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 17, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 |||||||
| Julius Randle PF | Dallas, Texas | Prestonwood | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Mar 20, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Derek Willis PF | Mount Washington, Kentucky | Bullitt East | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jan 20, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| James Young SG | Rochester, Michigan | Rochester | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 11, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| 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 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 20, 2012. "2013 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved January 20, 2012. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 20, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved January 20, 2012. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 20, 2012. |||||||

### Class of 2014 commitments

US college sports recruiting information for 2014 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Karl-Anthony Towns C | Pisctaway, New Jersey | St. Joseph | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Dec 4, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Devin Booker SG | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Moss Point | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 31, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 93 |||||||
| Trey Lyles PF | Indianapolis, Indiana & Regina, Saskatchewan | Arsenal Tech | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Nov 5, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Tyler Ulis PG | Chicago, Illinois | Marian | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Sep 13, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| 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 2014 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2012. "2014 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2012. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2012. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2012. |||||||

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Nerlens Noel | Willie Cauley-Stein | | |
| PF | Alex Poythress | Kyle Wiltjer | | |
| SF | Archie Goodwin | | Twany Beckham | |
| SG | Julius Mays | Jon Hood | Tod Lanter | Brian Long |
| PG | Ryan Harrow | Jarrod Polson | | Sam Malone |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov. 1, 2012* 7:00 pm, FSN/UK IMG | No. 3 | Northwood (FL) | W 93–61 | 0–0 | 22 – Goodwin | 11 – Noel | 5 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,073) Lexington, KY |
| Nov. 5, 2012* 8:00 pm, FSN/UK IMG | No. 3 | Transylvania | W 74–28 | 0–0 | 15 – Noel | 6 – Goodwin | 4 – Harrow | Rupp Arena (20,769) Lexington, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov. 9, 2012* 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | vs. Maryland Barclays Center Classic | W 72–69 | 1–0 | 19 – Wiltjer | 9 – Noel | 3 – Polson | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY |
| Nov. 13, 2012* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | vs. No. 9 Duke Champions Classic | L 68–75 | 1–1 | 20 – Poythress | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Georgia Dome (22,847) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov. 16, 2012* 7:00 pm, FSN/UK IMG | No. 3 | Lafayette Barclays Center Classic | W 101–49 | 2–1 | 23 – Wiltjer | 7 – Noel | 10 – Mays | Rupp Arena (21,360) Lexington, KY |
| Nov. 21, 2012* 7:00 pm, FSN/UK IMG | No. 8 | Morehead State Barclays Center Classic | W 81–70 | 3–1 | 28 – Goodwin | 11 – Noel | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (21,897) Lexington, KY |
| Nov. 23, 2012* 7:00 pm, FSN/UK IMG | No. 8 | Long Island Barclays Center Classic | W 104–75 | 4–1 | 22 – Tied | 9 – Tied | 9 – Goodwin | Rupp Arena (22,222) Lexington, KY |
| Nov. 29, 2012* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at Notre Dame SEC–Big East Challenge | L 50–64 | 4–2 | 16 – Mays | 7 – Tied | 5 – Goodwin | Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| Dec. 1, 2012* 12:30 pm, CBS | No. 8 | Baylor | L 55–64 | 4–3 | 17 – Goodwin | 16 – Noel | 5 – Goodwin | Rupp Arena (24,192) Lexington, KY |
| Dec. 4, 2012* 7:00 pm, FSN/ESPN3 | | Samford | W 88–56 | 5–3 | 18 – Goodwin | 12 – Cauley-Stein | 5 – Mays | Rupp Arena (21,221) Lexington, KY |
| Dec. 8, 2012* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Portland | W 74–46 | 6–3 | 15 – Tied | 9 – Noel | 6 – Harrow | Rupp Arena (22,285) Lexington, KY |
| Dec. 15, 2012* 12:30 pm, FSN/ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | W 88–50 | 7–3 | 23 – Wiltjer | 12 – Wiltjer | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (21,323) Lexington, KY |
| Dec. 22, 2012* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Marshall | W 82–54 | 8–3 | 23 – Harrow | 10 – Noel | 5 – Mays | Rupp Arena (24,271) Lexington, KY |
| Dec. 29, 2012* 4:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 4 Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass | L 77–80 | 8–4 | 22 – Goodwin | 8 – Tied | 3 – Harrow | KFC Yum! Center (22,810) Louisville, KY |
| Jan. 2, 2013* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Eastern Michigan | W 90–38 | 9–4 | 17 – Wiltjer | 13 – Noel | 8 – Harrow | Rupp Arena (22,135) Lexington, KY |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| Jan. 10, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Vanderbilt | W 60–58 | 10–4 (1–0) | 16 – Harrow | 8 – Cauley-Stein | 4 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 12, 2013 4:00 pm, SEC Network/ESPN3 | | Texas A&M | L 71–83 | 10–5 (1–1) | 17 – Goodwin | 11 – Noel | 6 – Noel | Rupp Arena (24,193) Lexington, KY |
| Jan. 15, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Tennessee | W 75–65 | 11–5 (2–1) | 17 – Wiltjer | 9 – Noel | 4 – Harrow | Rupp Arena (24,033) Lexington, KY |
| Jan. 19, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Auburn | W 75–53 | 12–5 (3–1) | 17 – Wiltjer | 9 – Noel | 8 – Harrow | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| Jan. 22, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Alabama | L 55–59 | 12–6 (3–2) | 14 – Wiltjer | 13 – Noel | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 26, 2013 4:00 pm, SECN/ESPN3 | | LSU | W 75–70 | 13–6 (4–2) | 20 – Poythress | 12 – Poythress | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (24,248) Lexington, KY |
| Jan. 29, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 16 Ole Miss | W 87–74 | 14–6 (5–2) | 26 – Wiltjer | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Tad Smith Coliseum (9,232) Oxford, MS |
| Feb. 2, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at Texas A&M | W 72–68 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (6–2) | 19 – Tied | 14 – Noel | 3 – Tied | Reed Arena (10,558) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 5, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | South Carolina | W 77–55 | 16–6 (7–2) | 15 – Mays | 10 – Noel | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (22,559) Lexington, KY |
| Feb. 9, 2013 4:00 pm, SECN/ESPN3 | | Auburn | W 72–62 | 17–6 (8–2) | 14 – Wiltjer | 12 – Noel | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (24,253) Lexington, KY |
| Feb. 12, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | at No. 7 Florida | L 52–69 | 17–7 (8–3) | 10 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | O'Connell Center (12,480) Gainesville, FL |
| Feb. 16, 2013 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 25 | at Tennessee | L 58–88 | 17–8 (8–4) | 18 – Wiltjer | 6 – Wiltjer | 4 – Goodwin | Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| Feb. 20, 2013 8:00 pm, SECN/ESPN3 | | Vanderbilt | W 74–70 | 18–8 (9–4) | 20 – Cauley-Stein | 7 – Cauley-Stein | 6 – Mays | Rupp Arena (22,887) Lexington, KY |
| Feb. 23, 2013 9:00 pm, ESPN | | Missouri College GameDay | W 90–83 $^{OT}$ | 19–8 (10–4) | 24 – Mays | 12 – Cauley-Stein | 6 – Harrow | Rupp Arena (24,380) Lexington, KY |
| Feb. 27, 2013 8:00 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | W 85–55 | 20–8 (11–4) | 19 – Harrow | 8 – Cauley-Stein | 4 – Tied | Rupp Arena (24,023) Lexington, KY |
| Mar. 2, 2013 4:00 pm, CBS | | at Arkansas | L 60–73 | 20–9 (11–5) | 14 – Goodwin | 10 – Cauley-Stein | 2 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (18,139) Fayetteville, AR |
| Mar. 7, 2013 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Georgia | L 62–72 | 20–10 (11–6) | 20 – Goodwin | 11 – Cauley-Stein | 3 – Poythress | Stegeman Coliseum (10,062) Athens, GA |
| Mar. 9, 2013 12:00 pm, CBS | | No. 11 Florida | W 61–57 | 21–10 (12–6) | 16 – Goodwin | 12 – Poythress | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (24,294) Lexington, KY |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 15, 2013 7:30 p.m., SECN/ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (10) Vanderbilt Quarterfinals | L 48–64 | 21–11 | 12 – Goodwin | 9 – Cauley-Stein | 3 – Mays | Bridgestone Arena (18,192) Nashville, TN |
| National Invitation Tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 19, 2013* 7:30 p.m., ESPN | (1) | at (8) Robert Morris First Round | L 57–59 | 21–12 | 18 – Goodwin | 7 – Goodwin | 3 – Polson | Charles L. Sewall Center (3,444) Moon Township, PA |
| *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 — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | 25 | — | — | | |
| Coaches | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | | |