# 1983–84 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1983–84 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky and went to the 1984 Final Four. The head coach was Joe B. Hall. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Rupp Arena. Because the Wildcats played the regional final on their home court, the following season the NCAA enacted a rule not allowing any school to play in a tournament game on its home court. However, the ruling did not take effect until after the 1986–87 season.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 26* WTBS | No. 2 | No. 6 Louisville Rivalry | W 65–44 | 1–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 3* CBS | No. 1 | Indiana Rivalry | W 59–54 | 2–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 10* | No. 2 | at Kansas | W 72–50 | 3–0 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, KS |
| December 16* | No. 2 | Wyoming UK Invitation Tournament | W 66–40 | 4–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 17* | No. 2 | BYU UK Invitation Tournament | W 93–59 | 5–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| December 20* SPI | No. 2 | at Cincinnati | W 24–11 | 6–0 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| December 24* | No. 2 | at Illinois | W 56–54 | 7–0 | Assembly Hall (10,732) Champaign, IL |
| December 28* | No. 2 | vs. No. 18 Purdue | W 86–67 | 8–0 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| January 2 | No. 2 | at Ole Miss | W 68–55 | 9–0 (1–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| January 7 | No. 2 | at No. 9 LSU | W 96–80 | 10–0 (2–0) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 9 | No. 2 | Alabama | W 76–66 | 11–0 (3–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 11 | No. 2 | Mississippi State | W 51–42 | 12–0 (4–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 13 WTBS | No. 2 | at Auburn | L 63–82 | 12–1 (4–1) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| January 17 | No. 3 | at Florida | L 57–69 | 12–2 (4–2) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| January 20 | No. 3 | Vanderbilt | W 67–46 | 13–2 (5–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 22* CBS | No. 3 | No. 4 Houston | W 74–67 | 14–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 28 | No. 3 | No. 18 Georgia | W 64–40 | 15–2 (6–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 30 | No. 3 | Tennessee Rivalry | W 93–74 | 16–2 (7–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 4 | No. 3 | at Alabama | L 62–69 | 16–3 (7–3) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 6 | No. 3 | at Mississippi State | W 77–58 | 17–3 (8–3) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| February 11 | No. 6 | No. 16 Auburn | W 84–64 | 18–3 (9–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 13 | No. 6 | Florida | W 67–65 | 19–3 (10–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| February 19 SPI | No. 6 | at Vanderbilt | W 58–54 | 20–3 (11–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| February 25 NBC | No. 4 | at Georgia | W 66–64 | 21–3 (12–3) | Georgia Coliseum Athens, GA |
| February 27 | No. 4 | at Tennessee Rivalry | L 58–63 | 21–4 (12–4) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, TN |
| March 1 | No. 3 | Ole Miss | W 76–57 | 22–4 (13–4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| March 3 | No. 3 | LSU | W 90–68 | 23–4 (14–4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 8* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (8) Georgia Second Round | W 92–79 | 24–4 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| March 9* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (5) Alabama Semifinals | W 48–46 | 25–4 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| March 10* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (2) Auburn Championship Game | W 51–49 | 26–4 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 17* | (1 ME) No. 3 | vs. (8 ME) BYU Second Round | W 93–68 | 27–4 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, AL |
| March 22* NCAAP | (1 ME) No. 3 | vs. (5 ME) Louisville Sweet Sixteen | W 72–67 | 28–4 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| March 24* CBS | (1 ME) No. 3 | vs. (2 ME) No. 6 Illinois Elite Eight | W 54–51 | 29–4 | Rupp Arena (23,525) Lexington, KY |
| March 31* 6:12 p.m., CBS | (1 ME) No. 3 | vs. (1 W) No. 2 Georgetown Final Four | L 40–53 | 29–5 | Kingdome (38,471) Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Statistics

* C Melvin Turpin (6–11, Sr) 15.2 ppg
* F Kenny Walker (6–8, So) 12.4 ppg
* F Sam Bowie (7–1, Sr) 10.5 ppg
* G Jim Master (6–5, Sr) 9.6 ppg
* F Winston Bennett (6–7, Fr) 6.5 ppg

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1984 | 1 | 2 | Sam Bowie | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1984 | 1 | 6 | Melvin Turpin | Washington Bullets |
| 1984 | 4 | 81 | Dicky Beal | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1984 | 6 | 127 | Jim Master | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1984 | 8 | 163 | Tom Heitz | Indiana Pacers |
| 1986 | 1 | 5 | Kenny Walker | New York Knicks |
| 1986 | 5 | 115 | Roger Harden | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1987 | 5 | 94 | James Blackmon | New Jersey Nets |
| 1988 | 3 | 64 | Winston Bennett | Cleveland Cavaliers |