# 1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1995–96 college basketball season. Coached by Rick Pitino, the team finished the season with a 34–2 record and won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship over the Syracuse University Orangemen, 76–67.
Also known as "The Untouchables", nine players from the 95–96 team eventually played in the NBA. These players were Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed, Mark Pope, Jeff Sheppard, Wayne Turner, and Antoine Walker. The 1995–96 Kentucky team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball history.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 7 November 1995* UKTV | | Cagiva Varese | W 98–74 | | Rupp Arena (–) Lexington, KY |
| 17 November 1995* UKTV | | Athletes in Action | W 119–80 | | Rupp Arena (–) Lexington, KY |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 24 November 1995* ESPN | No. 1 | vs. No. 14 Maryland Tip-off Classic | W 96–84 | 1–0 | Springfield Civic Center (8,999) Springfield, MA |
| 28 November 1995* ESPN | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Massachusetts Great Eight | L 82–92 | 1–1 | The Palace (15,454) Auburn Hills, MI |
| 2 December 1995* 3:00 p.m., CBS | No. 1 | vs. Indiana | W 89–82 | 2–1 | RCA Dome (41,071) Indianapolis, IN |
| 6 December 1995* UKTV | No. 5 | Green Bay | W 74–62 | 3–1 | Rupp Arena (22,825) Lexington, KY |
| 9 December 1995* 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 5 | No. 16 Georgia Tech | W 83–60 | 4–1 | Rupp Arena (24,238) Lexington, KY |
| 16 December 1995* UKTV | No. 5 | Morehead State | W 96–32 | 5–1 | Rupp Arena (24,065) Lexington, KY |
| 19 December 1995* UKTV | No. 5 | vs. Marshall | W 118–99 | 6–1 | Freedom Hall (19,795) Louisville, KY |
| 23 December 1995* 3:00 p.m., CBS | No. 4 | No. 25 Louisville | W 89–66 | 7–1 | Rupp Arena (24,340) Lexington, KY |
| 27 December 1995* UKTV | No. 2 | vs. Rider ECAC Holiday Festival | W 90–65 | 8–1 | Madison Square Garden (13,175) New York, NY |
| 29 December 1995* UKTV | No. 2 | vs. Iona ECAC Holiday Festival | W 106–79 | 9–1 | Madison Square Garden (13,659) New York, NY |
| 3 January 1996 8:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | at South Carolina | W 89–60 | 10–1 (1–0) | Frank McGuire Arena (12,068) Columbia, SC |
| 6 January 1996 UKTV | No. 2 | Ole Miss | W 90–60 | 11–1 (2–0) | Rupp Arena (21,275) Lexington, KY |
| 9 January 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | at No. 12 Mississippi State | W 74–56 | 12–1 (3–0) | Humphrey Coliseum (10,315) Starkville, MS |
| 13 January 1996 UKTV | No. 2 | Tennessee | W 61–44 | 13–1 (4–0) | Rupp Arena (24,247) Lexington, KY |
| 16 January 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | at LSU | W 129–97 | 14–1 (5–0) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,684) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 20 January 1996* 7:15 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | TCU | W 124–80 | 15–1 | Rupp Arena (24,189) Lexington, KY |
| 24 January 1996 8:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | at Georgia | W 82–77 | 16–1 (6–0) | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| 27 January 1996 8:00 p.m., UKTV | No. 2 | South Carolina | W 89–57 | 17–1 (7–0) | Rupp Arena (24,229) Lexington, KY |
| 3 February 1996 1:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | Florida | W 77–63 | 18–1 (8–0) | Rupp Arena (24,251) Lexington, KY |
| 7 February 1996 8:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | at Vanderbilt | W 120–81 | 19–1 (9–0) | Memorial Gymnasium (15,311) Nashville, TN |
| 11 February 1996 3:00 p.m., CBS | No. 2 | Arkansas | W 88–73 | 20–1 (10–0) | Rupp Arena (24,336) Lexington, KY |
| 13 February 1996 8:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | Georgia | W 86–73 | 21–1 (11–0) | Rupp Arena (24,206) Lexington, KY |
| 17 February 1996 3:00 p.m., JP | No. 2 | at Tennessee | W 90–50 | 22–1 (12–0) | Thompson-Boling Arena (23,115) Knoxville, TN |
| 20 February 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | Alabama | W 84–65 | 23–1 (13–0) | Rupp Arena (24,175) Lexington, KY |
| 24 February 1996 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 2 | at Florida | W 94–63 | 24–1 (14–0) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center (10,697) Gainesville, FL |
| 27 February 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | at Auburn | W 88–73 | 25–1 (15–0) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (10,108) Auburn, AL |
| 2 March 1996 UKTV | No. 1 | Vanderbilt Homecoming | W 101–63 | 26–1 (16–0) | Rupp Arena (24,257) Lexington, KY |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| 8 March 1996 JP | (E1) No. 1 | vs. (E5) Florida Quarterfinals | W 100–76 | 27–1 | Louisiana Superdome (21,248) New Orleans, LA |
| 9 March 1996 JP | (E1) No. 1 | vs. (W2) Arkansas Semifinals | W 95–75 | 28–1 | Louisiana Superdome (24,556) New Orleans, LA |
| 10 March 1996 CBS | (E1) No. 1 | vs. (W1) No. 25 Mississippi State Championship | L 73–84 | 28–2 | Louisiana Superdome (24,462) New Orleans, LA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 14 March 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (16 MW) San Jose State First Round | W 110–72 | 29–2 | Reunion Arena (13,458) Dallas, TX |
| 16 March 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (9 MW) No. 16 Virginia Tech Second Round | W 84–60 | 30–2 | Reunion Arena (15,469) Dallas, TX |
| 21 March 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (4 MW) No. 10 Utah Sweet Sixteen | W 101–70 | 31–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,334) Minneapolis, MN |
| 23 March 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (2 MW) No. 13 Wake Forest Elite Eight | W 83–63 | 32–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,397) Minneapolis, MN |
| 30 March 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Massachusetts Final Four | W 81–74 | 33–2 | Continental Airlines Arena (19,229) East Rutherford, NJ |
| 1 April 1996* CBS | (1 MW) No. 2 | vs. (4 W) No. 15 Syracuse National Championship | W 76–67 | 34–2 | Continental Airlines Arena (19,229) East Rutherford, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Not released |
| Coaches | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* Tony Delk, NCAA Men's MOP Award

## Players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 6 | Antoine Walker | Boston Celtics |
| 1 | 16 | Tony Delk | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1 | 19 | Walter McCarty | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2 | 23 (52) | Mark Pope | Indiana Pacers |