The Kentucky Wildcats begin their quest for a ninth national title in program history on Thursday with an opening round game against Abliene Christian. After a 27-6 season and a loss in the SEC tournament semifinals to Tennessee, the Wildcats received a No. 2 seed in the midwest region – setting up a potential showdown with No. 1 North Carolina in Kansas City for a spot in the Final Four.
Here are a few interesting March Madness stats, all via UK Athletics:
- Kentucky has 126 wins in the NCAA tournament, more than any other school. North Carolina is second with TK, and Duke is a distant third with TK.
- Kentucky has made 58 appearances in the NCAA tournament, the most in the nation.
- Since John Calipari’s first season at Kentucky, the Wildcats lead the nation in NCAA tournament wins and appearances in the Final Four (4) Elite Eight (6) and Sweet 16 (7).
- John Calipari has a coaching record of 160-46 in the months of March and April.
- Kentucky is a perfect 7-0 against No. 15 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
- Kentucky is 24-1 in its last 25 NCAA tournament openers
- Dan Issel holds the single-game tournament scoring record for Kentucky. Issel dropped 44 points on Notre Dame in the 1970 Sweet 16.
