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The definitive explanation of why the Kentucky Wildcats should be ranked No. 1

The one thing — literally the one and only thing — we agreed on without debate or discussion is that the Kentucky Wildcats should be No. 1

From of :  “Several hours after the national title game ended, at some point between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, and I (along with our colleagues Matt Norlander and Jeff Borzello) settled into a booth at a Waffle House in the shadows of the Georgia Dome, ordered omelets and finalized our Ridiculously Early Preseason Top 25 (and one).

We argued about Colorado.

We argued about Ohio State.

We argued about Duke and Memphis and Wichita State.

But the one thing — literally the one and only thing — we agreed on without debate or discussion is that the Wildcats should be No. 1. It was the easiest decision we made. And yet, the somewhat common opinion among a contingent of common folk (outside of the Commonwealth, of course) is that it's silly to rank a school No. 1 based mostly on the quality of a recruiting class, especially when that same school was ranked No. 3 last preseason before ending up in the NIT. To that, I say … sigh.”

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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.

 

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