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1950-51 National Champions

Standing: Frank Ramsey, Shelby Linville, Bill Spivey, Roger Layne, Lou Tsioropoulos, Read Morgan Seated: Coach Adolph Rupp, Cliff Hagan, C.M. Newton, Walt Hirsch, Paul Lansaw, Dwight Price, Assistant Coach Harry Lancaster Bottom Row: Lindle Castle, Lucian Whitaker, Bobby Watson, Guy Strong, T. Riddle

NCAA Championship #3
KENTUCKY 68, KANSAS STATE 58
March 27, 1951
Minneapolis

Season Recap

Kentucky opened the 1950-51 season on an 84-game home winning streak and the Wildcats began the year by moving from the antiquated Alumni Gym to the new 11,500-seat Memorial Coliseum that was designed to commemorate the Kentuckians who died in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

Though illness plagued the team and its coach throughout the season, Kentucky compiled a 32-2 record and its third national title in four years. UK defeated archrival Louisville by 11 points, 79-68, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before breezing by St. John’s in the next round. After posting a narrow 76-74 victory over Illinois in the East Regional championship, the Cats toppled Kansas State, 68-58, in the championship game.

Seven-foot center Bill Spivey led Kentucky, scoring 19.2 points per game during the season. He was followed by the junior duo of Shelby Linville and Bobby Watson, who each averaged 10.4 points per game. The Cats outscored their opponents by 757 points in UK’s third championship season.

Championship Game

Bill Spivey scored 22 points and an ailing Cliff Hagan sparked the Wildcats to their third NCAA title. With a squad consisting of only six healthy players – Walt Hirsch was ineligible and Hagan was plagued by an infected throat – the Wildcats hardly looked like championship material as Kansas State broke out to a 20-12 lead. It was then that Rupp inserted the ailing Hagan. It was a move that may have proved the difference as the freshman forward sparked a rally that saw UK cut the Kansas State lead to 29-27 at the half. Led by Hagan and Spivey, who dominated the boards, UK outscored Kansas State 41-29 in the second half to complete the come-from-behind victory.

Boxscore

KENTUCKY

PLAYER      FG  FTM  FTA  PF  TP
Whitaker     4    1    0   2   9
Linville     2    4    8   5   8
Spivey       9    4    6   2  22
Ramsey       4    1    3   5   9
Watson       3    2    4   3   8
Hagan        5    0    2   5  10
Tsioropoulos 1    0    0   1   2
Newton       0    0    0   0   0

TOTALS      28   12   23  23  68

KANSAS STATE

PLAYER      FG  FTM  FTA  PF  TP
Head         3    2    2   5   8
Stone        3    6    8   3  12
Hitch        6    1    1   5  13
Barrett      2    0    2   1   4
Iverson      3    1    2   3   7
Housey       2    0    0   3   4
Gibson       0    1    1   5   1
Upson        0    0    0   1   0
Knostman     1    1    2   1   3
Peck         2    0    1   1   4
Schuyler     1    0    1   1   2

TOTALS      23   12   20  31  58

HALFTIME:
Kansas State 29, UK 27

 

Most Outstanding Player: Bill Spivey – scored a game-high 22 points on nine field goals and four free throws

1951 NCAA Tournament Bracket

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.