The Kentucky Wildcats have been a major center of March Madness for a long time. No program in NCAA history has seen more NCAA tournaments than them.
But Kentucky will not play in the NCAA tournament in 2021.
Kentucky held one of its worst seasons in program history in 2020-21, as they recorded their fewest wins in nearly a century. Meanwhile, John Calipari failed to win a double-digit game for the first time in his career.
Here’s a look at the Kentucky season and how rare it is for him outside the NCAA tournament bubble.
When was the last time Kentucky missed the NCAA tournament?
Kentucky last missed the NCAA tournament in 2013. During the 2012–13 college basketball campaign, Kentucky posted a 21–12 record and 12–6 in the SEC that year. This put him in a three-way tie for second place in the SEC, but getting him for the NCAA tournament was not enough.
Part of Kentucky’s demise was related to the late clashes, as they were 5-5 in their last 10 games before March Madness. This included a 64–48 loss to Vanderbilt in the quarter-finals of the SEC tournament. As a result, Kentucky was not able to make it to the final bracket and instead accepted an invitation to the NIT, where they lost to Robert Morris University in the first round.
It is rare for Kentucky to miss the NCAA tournament. Since 1992, the team has qualified for the tournament 26 times in 29 occasions. They have been in the NCAA tournament a record 58 times, eight times more than the second-placed North Carolina Tar Heels.
Kentucky basketball record 2020-21
Kentucky had a record of 9–16 during the 2020–21 season. His nine wins are the team’s lowest win since the 1926–27 season when the team held a 3–13 record in the Southern Conference, and his 0.36 win percentage is the lowest since that time.
The Wildcats began the season with a 1-6 record, losing six consecutive games following an Opening-Night win over Morehead State. He could never get back on track after that.
Kentucky’s 2020-21 season timeline
Kentucky started the season with a 1-6 record, and things were not going smoothly for the team. In the midst of his tough start, coach John Calipari criticized him for putting himself on a “dumb” schedule
“Listen, we should play games that we had a chance to win, play four or five of them and then four or five others,” said Kalipari, According to Forbes’s Adam Zagoria. “Not eight tough games and we still got Texas to finish 10th in the country.”
From there, Calipari tried to pull several strings, but most did not work or backfire. Initially, he suspended Cameron Fletcher for his outbreak on the bench during a loss and criticized him for being immature. Fletcher later returned to the team, but Calipari began an investigation into his decision to suspend Fletcher, who immediately apologized for the outburst.
Calipi was eliminated in the eighth game of the season against Mississippi State. While his rejection fired his team to win that game and kickstarted a three-game winning streak, the impact did not last long. Following his winning rhythm, Kentucky fell three straight, and the Khalifa expressed his frustration.
“I’m a little disappointed at this point because I’m not convinced that we are not better, as a team, and individual players are not better,” Calip said. ” KentuckySportsRadio.com’s Nick Roche.
Beyond his inability to click, Kentucky dealt with significant injuries for Terence Clarke and Keian Brooks, who combined to play just 22 matches. Both were double-digit scorers, so their presence missed the offensive side of the ball. The team also had two COVID cancellations and postponements, which added some buoyancy to their schedule.
The Wildcats were officially guaranteed to miss the NCAA tournament when they were eliminated from the SEC tournament in the first round. They lost to No. 9 seed Mississippi State, but had to take any shots in March Madness to win the SEC tournament. Instead, they will look forward to the next season and aim to improve their poor 9-16 record.
Leave a Reply