1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1965–66 season of University of Kentucky men's basketball team March 2026 November 2025 August 2023 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball 150px Southeastern Conference SEC 1 1 27–2 15–1 Adolph Rupp 36th Harry Lancaster 21st Memorial Coliseum SEC champions NCAA regular season championsNCAA tournament, runner-up National Championship Game L Lost 65-72 vs. Texas Western The 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in NCAA competition in the 1965–66 season. Coached by Adolph Rupp, the team had no player taller than 6 ft 5 in m 2 on—unusually small even for that era—and became known as "Rupp's Runts". The Wildcats were members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum, their home until Rupp Arena opened in 1976. Led on the floor by future Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley and Louie Dampier, the Cats reached the top ranking in all major polls entering the NCAA tournament; their only regular-season loss was at Tennessee.March 9, 1966 Cats score runaway in final college poll https://www.newspapers.com/article/kentucky-new-era-uks-cinderella-team-tr/185184643/ 2025-11-18 Kentucky New Era Newspapers.comMarch 25, 1966 Kentucky Sports Sidelights...On Basketball https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kentucky-post-kentucky-sports-sideli/185184896/ 2025-11-18 The Kentucky Post Newspapers.com They ultimately lost in the final 72–65 to Texas Western (now UTEP), a team that was inducted in its entirety to the Hall of Fame. The game is mostly remembered for its sociological subtext—the Miners were the first major college team to start five black players in an NCAA Final (having done so for virtually all of the 1965–66 season),11 important details you might not know about UTEP's historic upset of Kentucky in 1966 NCAA.com https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-03-24/11-important-details-you-might-not-know-about-uteps-historic 2025-11-21 NCAA while the Wildcats were all-white (until 1969). Roster 1965 Kentucky Wildcats y Louie Dampier y 10 G 6 JR Indianapolis, IN Jim LeMaster y 12 6 2 G SO Paris, KY Gene Stewart 22 6 2 F JR Brookville, IN Bob Tallent 24 G 6 1 SO Langley, KY Tom Porter 25 F 6 3 SO Gracey, KY Tommy Kron y 30 G 6 5 SR Tell City, IN Steve Clevenger 32 G 6 SO Anderson, IN Larry Conley y 40 F 6 3 SR Ashland, KY Pat Riley y 42 G 6 4 JR Schenectady, NY Brad Bounds 44 F 6 6 JR Bluffton, IN Cliff Berger 45 C 6 8 SO Centralia, IL Gary Gamble 50 F 6 4 SO Earlington, KY Larry Lentz 54 C 6 8 SR Lakeview, OH Thad Jaracz y 55 F 6 5 SO Lexington, KY Bob Windsor F 6 4 JR Silver Spring, MD Adolph Rupp (Kansas) Harry Lancaster (Georgetown College) Schedule no no yes |- !colspan=9 style=Kentucky Wildcats|Regular Season December 1, 1965 83–55 yes 1965 men Hardin-Simmons Cowboys Hardin-Simmons Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 1–0 December 4, 1965 99–73 yes 1965 men Virginia Cavaliers Virginia University Hall Charlottesville, VA 2–0 December 8, 1965 86–68 yes Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 3–0 December 11, 1965 86–75 yes 1965 men Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 4–0 December 17, 1965 78–58 yes 1965 men Air Force Falcons Air Force Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 5–0 December 18, 1965 91–56 yes Indiana Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 6–0 December 22, 1965 89–73 yes 10 Texas Tech Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX 7–0 December 29, 1965 103–69 yes 5 1965 men Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Freedom Hall Louisville, KY 8–0 January 3, 1966 80–70 yes 2 1965 men Saint Louis Billikens Saint Louis Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 9–0 January 8, 1966 78–64 no 2 1965 men Florida Gators Florida Rivalry Florida Gymnasium Gainesville, FL 10–0 1–0 January 10, 1966 69–65 2OT no 2 1965 men Georgia Bulldogs Georgia Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA 11–0 2–0 January 15, 1966 96–83 no 2 1965 men Vanderbilt Commodores Vanderbilt 3 Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 12–0 3–0 January 24, 1966 111–85 no 2 1965 men LSU Tigers LSU Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 13–0 4–0 January 29, 1966 115–78 no 2 Auburn Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 14–0 5–0 January 31, 1966 82–62 no 2 1965 men Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 15–0 6–0 February 2, 1966 105–90 no 2 Vanderbilt 3 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN 16–0 7–0 February 5, 1966 74–50 no 2 Georgia Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 17–0 8–0 February 7, 1966 85–75 no 1 Florida Rivalry Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 18–0 9–0 February 12, 1966 77–64 no 1 Auburn Auburn Sports Arena Auburn, AL 19–0 10–0 February 14, 1966 90–67 no 1 Alabama Foster Auditorium Tuscaloosa, AL 20–0 11–0 February 19, 1966 73–69 no 1 1965 men Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State McCarthy Gymnasium Starkville, MS 21–0 12–0 February 21, 1966 108–65 no 1 1965 men Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss Gymnasium Oxford, MS 22–0 13–0 February 26, 1966 78–64 no 1 1965 men Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee Rivalry Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 23–0 14–0 March 5, 1966 62–69 no 1 Tennessee Rivalry Armory-Fieldhouse Knoxville, TN 23–1 14–1 March 7, 1966 103–74 no 1 1965 men Tulane Green Wave Tulane Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY 24–1 15–1 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#Kentucky Wildcats 1;"| NCAA Tournament March 11, 1966 86–79 yes 1 1965 men Dayton Flyers Dayton yes Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Regional semifinal 25–1 March 12, 1966 81–80 yes 1 Michigan 9 yes Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa Elite Eight 26–1 March 18, 1966 83–79 yes 1 Duke 2 yes Cole Field House College Park, MD National semifinal 27–1 March 19, 1966 65–72 yes 1 Texas Western 3 yes Cole Field House College Park, MD National Championship 27–2 AP Poll Eastern time Awards and honors 1966 SEC co-Player of the Year: Pat Riley 1966 Consensus All-American: Louie Dampier (Second Team) 1966 All-SEC: Pat Riley, Louie Dampier (First Team); Thad Jaracz (Second Team) Team players in the 1966 NBA draft 1966 NBA draft Kentucky Wildcats Round Pick Player NBA club 3 24 Tommy Kron St. Louis Hawks References Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons Kentucky Wildcats Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Kentucky Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky Wildcats