1978 National Champs
From the “Kentucky Basketball: The Season Never Ends Calendar:” Kevin Grevey had 32 points and Jimmy Dan Conner 12 as the #16 Kentucky Wildcats blasted Northwestern 97-70 to open the season. The win featured the debut of “The Super Kittens”: James Lee (11 points), Jack Givens (8 points), Rick Robey (8 points) and Mike Phillips (4 points). The quartet of freshmen would form the nucleus of a talented group that upset #1 Indiana in March 1975 to go to the Final Four. They finished runner-ups that year to UCLA, then won the 1976 NIT. After a heartbreaking Elite Eight loss to North Carolina in 1977, they finally broke through, winning the 1978 national championship in St. Louis. Read original newspaper article about the Super Kittens.
