Out of all the championship runs, which one was the most fun and which one did you rewatch the most?
Most fun championship run
- Thread starter David Rice
- Start date
1998. It was unexpected, as the 2012 was expected (as was 96). The dUKe game plays into this as well, but I think that coming back in 3 straight games gives it some viewing power as well ( and taking out UCLA). That said, the 2014 run to the championship would win hands down if we had won. I've watch all those games (minus the UConn loss) a lot.
For sure, 1998. I just re-watched the E8 win over duke last week. I thought that Coach Smith made all the right moves down the stretch, including leaving Muhammed and Magloire on the bench and going smaller, and not calling timeout when duke was out of them. And of course Shep, Turner and Padgett were all clutch. I really enjoyed that team.
I need to find the F4 win over Stanford and the title win over Utah and re-watch those as well.
I need to find the F4 win over Stanford and the title win over Utah and re-watch those as well.
1998 was easily the most fun. 96 and 12 were expected. The games versus Duke, Stanford, and Utah were great great great games. Loved every second of it. If we would have sealed the deal in ‘10-‘11, that would have been just as fun.
1998. What a nail biting roller coaster that was. Come Back Cats!
for me it has to be 2012 solely for the reason we took out Indiana AND Louisville in the tourney, both of which thought they had teams that could beat us
Didn't win it all but definitely the most fun....primarily because it was so unexpected
Not winning the title game was a huge letdown but the run was easily the best....
So many great finishes and Aaron's heroics....but what made it so special was it was so unexpected since they had already lost TEN games that season!
Such a complete, welcomed surprise
IMHO, ‘78 was the original season without joy, but 96 and 12 were like that a bit as well. Every single time they would historically put the stamp on somebody - like LSU in ‘96 and USCjr in 2012 - there’d be the thought in the back of your head that it didn’t matter if they didn’t win it all.
‘98 on the other hand was incredibly frustrating during the regular season, but then towards the end everything clicked. Their SECT run was a sight to behold, and the demolition of UCLA in the sweet sixteen was other worldly. Then you get three double digit comebacks to close it out and bring home #7. To this day I think that Duke game is the greatest emotional rollercoaster I’ve ever experienced. So much so that when Stanford and Utah both got up 10 points, the feeling was just “we’ll make a run.” And they did.
had 2014 played zone the whole game, we’d probably all point to that one. But Cal let the team get down big to start, then zoned the game back to almost even, then went man again for reasons that are baffling to me. That Wichita St, UL, Michigan, Wisconsin stretch was incredible.
‘98 on the other hand was incredibly frustrating during the regular season, but then towards the end everything clicked. Their SECT run was a sight to behold, and the demolition of UCLA in the sweet sixteen was other worldly. Then you get three double digit comebacks to close it out and bring home #7. To this day I think that Duke game is the greatest emotional rollercoaster I’ve ever experienced. So much so that when Stanford and Utah both got up 10 points, the feeling was just “we’ll make a run.” And they did.
had 2014 played zone the whole game, we’d probably all point to that one. But Cal let the team get down big to start, then zoned the game back to almost even, then went man again for reasons that are baffling to me. That Wichita St, UL, Michigan, Wisconsin stretch was incredible.
It was a hell of a run , I was a dam nervous wreck each game we played in that tournament !!
I remember the 1978 title run. The pressure on Coach Hall was unbelievable because he followed the Baron and this was his defining moment. I shutter to think what it would have been like had we had a broader social media back then. BTW, I know you posted 1998. I just wanted to mention what I thought was the pressure cooker of Championship runs.
98: The Comeback Cats.
92: Didn't win but will always be one of my favorites.
92: Didn't win but will always be one of my favorites.
1998, I was scheduled to work at my new job during the DUKE GAME, I knew I couldnt call off,
Well I just didn't go in,
No call No Show.
I was watching the game with my best friend who a few years later died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 45.
I just remember us Hollering
"HERE WE COME"
"TAKE THAT RAT FACE*
AND HERE WE COME WE DID
LIFE MEMORIES ARE GREAT
THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST
THE COMEBACK CATS
Well I just didn't go in,
No call No Show.
I was watching the game with my best friend who a few years later died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 45.
I just remember us Hollering
"HERE WE COME"
"TAKE THAT RAT FACE*
AND HERE WE COME WE DID
LIFE MEMORIES ARE GREAT
THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST
THE COMEBACK CATS
I remember my mom and sister, aunt and cousins coming home from shopping during either the 17-1, or the first lead against Duke.
Well ... I didn't get to attend any of the 'Cats' 8 NCAA Championship games in person - but I had an experience that was "almost like being there" in 1958.
From 1952 through 1965 my family always attended every game of the KHSAA State Tournament. In 1958 the State HS tournament was played at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. The State Tournament final game was on on Saturday, March 22, 1958. BUT ... the NCAA Championship game was on the same night at Freedom Hall in Louisville ! Of course, U.K. beat Seattle (and the great Elgin Baylor) for the title in '58. That game must have ended a little earlier, because I remember like it was yesterday some U.K. students walking through the crowd at the State Tournament final game carrying a bed sheet that had been made into a huge banner saying "Kentucky Wildcats - NCAA Champs" (or something like that). The crowd went wild. The refs stopped the State Tournament game (St. X vs. Daviess County) for a few minutes. Quite a celebration in Memorial Coliseum on the night the 'Cats won No. 8. It was "almost like being there" for the 'Cats' win over Seattle.
I'm sure some of y'all attended the actual game at Freedom Hall that night, and of course your memories are qualitatively superior to mine ... but I'm sure glad I was in Memorial Coliseum that night !
From 1952 through 1965 my family always attended every game of the KHSAA State Tournament. In 1958 the State HS tournament was played at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. The State Tournament final game was on on Saturday, March 22, 1958. BUT ... the NCAA Championship game was on the same night at Freedom Hall in Louisville ! Of course, U.K. beat Seattle (and the great Elgin Baylor) for the title in '58. That game must have ended a little earlier, because I remember like it was yesterday some U.K. students walking through the crowd at the State Tournament final game carrying a bed sheet that had been made into a huge banner saying "Kentucky Wildcats - NCAA Champs" (or something like that). The crowd went wild. The refs stopped the State Tournament game (St. X vs. Daviess County) for a few minutes. Quite a celebration in Memorial Coliseum on the night the 'Cats won No. 8. It was "almost like being there" for the 'Cats' win over Seattle.
I'm sure some of y'all attended the actual game at Freedom Hall that night, and of course your memories are qualitatively superior to mine ... but I'm sure glad I was in Memorial Coliseum that night !
98
And the "what if" that lingers today in my head, that DA could have been healthy in 97. Three peat.
And the "what if" that lingers today in my head, that DA could have been healthy in 97. Three peat.
Mine is 96 & for the exact reason most ppl in this thread have moved it down. My favorite teams are the most dominant ones & that team was the living definition of dominant. If I had my way we’d win every game by 20+ & that team came as close as you can come to accomplishing that & lived up to & even surpassed all the expectations as big favorites entering the season.
96 - the game that said to the world - we are back on top. There where a lot of ups and downs between 78 and 96 and reaching the pinnacle again finally, for me, was exhilarating and quite a relief. Plus we did it with style and dominance.
Don't forget Kansas. Took out three rivals in one run. How sweet that was.
I loved them all. Like asking me to pick which child I would keep over the others.
98. 96 was fun but we also blew every team off the floor.
Plus I saw 98 Final Four live.
Plus I saw 98 Final Four live.
97 would've got my vote if Mercer could've pulled off carrying that team on his back that whole season and he almost did he was an overtime from doing it! Derek Anderson and Ron Mercer ( Batman and Robin )the best 2 alley oopers of my generation!
98 also gets my vote because with having Tubby as a new coach and being down 18 points to Duke and being down to a few other teams and ended up pulling out the Championship.
96 will always be my most favorite UK team all time hands down.
What a run we had in the 90's!
98 also gets my vote because with having Tubby as a new coach and being down 18 points to Duke and being down to a few other teams and ended up pulling out the Championship.
96 will always be my most favorite UK team all time hands down.
What a run we had in the 90's!
98 was the perfect storm of fun. The comebacks, revenge on Duke, Pitino leaving, not having a star on the team, the letdown of the previous year, and the pure surprise of it all. It was just pure joy.
Yeah but you didn't get to enjoy the games until they were over. The last three, anyway. In 96 it was like "man, this is fun, we're killing people" the first four rounds.