2012 Kentucky National Championship team ranked as a top-five champion from this century A fair placement for the Cats.
One of the most exciting times of the sports calendar is approaching, as the NCAA Tournament is only a few weeks from tip-off.
This season’s Kentucky Wildcats squad is in a good position as the post-season creeps forward. Now, they aren’t quite the title favorites, but they are in the contender spot.
As a fun little look back, Myron Medcalf of ESPN took the time to rank every NCAA Champion from the century. With the Cats only having one championship team in 2012, that squad landed inside the top five at No. 3 overall. Ahead of them are the 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels and the 2001 Duke Blue Devils.
Here is what Medcalf has to say when ranking the Kentucky squad:
“Davis had one of the greatest freshmen seasons in the history of college basketball with accolades that included the Wooden Award, SEC player of the year, SEC defensive player of the year and Most Outstanding Player. His Kentucky squad lost only two games in 2011-12 — against Indiana on Christian Watford’s buzzer-beater and during the SEC tournament against a veteran Vanderbilt team — otherwise they would have been undefeated. This Kentucky squad is also one of two freshman-led teams that won a national title in the one-and-done era, i.e. the years after the NBA changed its draft eligibility rules in 2006 (the other was 2014-15 Duke).”
He continued:
“Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, an Associated Press All-America third-team selection, were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2012 NBA Draft, respectively. With those two as its anchors, Kentucky’s opponents made only 39.6% of their shots inside the arc because of the defensive prowess of this John Calipari-led squad. These Wildcats, featuring seven future NBA players, had it all.”
That Kentucky team was dominant all season, going 38-2. They also sprinted through the NCAA Tournament to get that matchup with Kansas in New Orleans.
Now, let’s hope the Cats can add another team to this list in the near future.
