# 1951–52 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1951–52 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The head coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky. The Wildcats finished the season with a 29–3 (14–0 SEC) record.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Dec 8, 1951* | | Washington and Lee | W 96–46 | 1–0 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 10, 1951* | No. 1 | at Xavier | W 97–72 | 2–0 | Schmidt Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 13, 1951* | No. 1 | at Minnesota | L 57–61 | 2–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 17, 1951* | No. 2 | No. 1 St. John's | W 81–40 | 3–1 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 20, 1951* | No. 2 | DePaul | W 98–60 | 4–1 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 26, 1951* | No. 1 | No. 16 UCLA | W 84–53 | 5–1 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 28, 1951* | No. 1 | vs. Brigham Young Sugar Bowl Classic | W 84–64 | 6–1 | Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Dec 29, 1951* | No. 1 | vs. No. 12 Saint Louis Sugar Bowl Classic | L 60–61 | 6–2 | Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Jan 3, 1952 | No. 4 | vs. Ole Miss | W 116–58 | 7–2 (1–0) | Owensboro Sportscenter Owensboro, Kentucky |
| Jan 5, 1952 | No. 4 | LSU | W 57–47 | 8–2 (2–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 7, 1952* | No. 4 | Xavier | W 83–50 | 9–2 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 12, 1952 | No. 3 | at Florida | W 99–52 | 10–2 (3–0) | Florida Gymnasium Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 14, 1952 | No. 3 | Georgia | W 95–55 | 11–2 (4–0) | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 19, 1952 | No. 3 | at Tennessee | W 65–56 | 12–2 (5–0) | Alumni Memorial Gym Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1952 | No. 3 | at Georgia Tech | W 96–51 | 13–2 (6–0) | Heisman Gymnasium Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jan 26, 1952 | No. 3 | at Alabama | W 71–67 | 14–2 (7–0) | Foster Auditorium Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 28, 1952 | No. 3 | at Vanderbilt | W 88–51 | 15–2 (8–0) | Old Gym Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 30, 1952 | No. 1 | at Auburn | W 88–48 | 16–2 (8–0) | Auburn Sports Arena Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 2, 1952* | No. 1 | vs. Notre Dame | W 71–66 | 17–2 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 4, 1952 | No. 1 | Tulane | W 103–54 | 18–2 (9–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 6, 1952 | No. 1 | Ole Miss | W 81–61 | 19–2 (10–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 9, 1952 | No. 1 | Georgia Tech | W 93–42 | 20–2 (11–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 11, 1952 | No. 1 | Mississippi State | W 110–66 | 21–2 (12–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 16, 1952 | No. 1 | Tennessee | W 95–40 | 22–2 (13–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 21, 1952 | No. 1 | Vanderbilt | W 75–45 | 23–2 (14–0) | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 23, 1952* | No. 1 | at DePaul | W 63–61 | 24–2 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1952* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (12) Georgia Tech First round | W 80–59 | 25–2 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky |
| Feb 29, 1952* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (8) Tulane Second Round | W 85–61 | 26–2 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky |
| Mar 1, 1952* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (5) Tennessee Semifinal | W 81–66 | 27–2 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky |
| Mar 1, 1952* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (3) LSU Championship Game | W 44–43 | 28–2 | Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 21, 1952* | No. 1 | vs. Penn State East Regional semifinal | W 82–54 | 29–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Mar 22, 1952* | No. 1 | vs. No. 10 St. John's East Regional Final | L 57–64 | 29–3 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||

### NCAA basketball tournament

* East
** Kentucky 82, Penn State 54
** St. John's, New York 64, Kentucky 57

## Awards and honors

* Cliff Hagan – Consensus First-team All-American

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Overall | Player | NBA Club |
| 7 | 64 | Skippy Whitaker | Indianapolis Olympians |