Kentucky's shocking upset loss to No. 14 Oakland was the Wildcats' second first-round loss in the last three NCAA tournaments.
The No. 3 Wildcats were favorites to be a Final Four contender ahead of this year's March Madness. Instead, Kentucky has missed the first weekend of the tournament for the third time in a row, approaching 10 years since its last appearance in the Final Four.
In 2012, the Wildcats won the national title in coach John Calipari's third season. This title felt like the first of many. Kentucky made at least the Elite Eight in each of Calipari's first three seasons in Lexington and was the No. 1 seed twice.
Instead, Kentucky missed the tournament in 2013 but made a surprising appearance in the national title game as the No. 8 seed in 2014. In 2015, the Wildcats were the No. 1 seed but lost in the Final Four.
Kentucky hasn't reached the Final Four or been a No. 1 seed since then. It's a surprising drop for a program that boasts eight national titles and 17 Final Four appearances. Does Calipari have a chance to break the streak next year? His future with the Wildcats will be one of the biggest storylines in college basketball over the next few days.
Here's how Kentucky has fared in the NCAA Tournament since reaching the Final Four in 2015. This is never pretty.
2016
The Wildcats had a team that featured Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray and undersized sophomore Tyler Lewis. The Wildcats defeated No. 13 Stony Brook in the first round of the tournament, but lost to No. 5 Indiana 73-67 in the second round.
2017
With Murray leaving for the NBA, Kentucky now has a trio of freshmen in Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo. The Wildcats played as a seed in the tournament, defeating Northern Kentucky in the first round, Wichita State in the second round, and third place UCLA in the Sweet 16. Their tournament ended with the Elite Eight. Luke Maye's shot with 0.3 seconds left gave No. 1 North Carolina a 75-73 victory.
2018
A new wave of NBA-bound freshmen led the team, including Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, P.J. Washington and Hamidou Diallo, all of whom averaged over 10 points per game. Kentucky defeated No. 12 Davidson in the first round by five points, and defeated No. 13 Buffalo in the second round, but lost to No. 9 Kansas State by three points in the Sweet 16.
2019
Kentucky played as a seed in 2019, but had an advantage in the Elite Eight against No. 5 Auburn. The Wildcats won their second and third round games by a combined 10 points, but lost to the Tigers 77-71 in overtime. Auburn guards Jared Harper and Bryce Brown combined for 50 points in the game, while Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro made 8-of-24 from the field for the Wildcats.
2020
2021
The win ended the Wildcats' six-game losing streak to open the season, and they never finished above .500 after the second game of the season.
2022
The Wildcats were the victims of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history two seasons ago, when No. 15 St. Peter's defeated Kentucky 85-79 in overtime in the tournament's first round. The Peacocks tied the score with 24 seconds left in the second half on Doug Edert's goal, and Kentucky won 9-3 in the final 1:45 of overtime. St. Peter's won two more games and lost to North Carolina in the Elite Eight.
2023
This Kentucky team was led by three seniors: double-double machines Oscar Tshibwe, Antonio Reeves, and Jacob Toppin. The Wildcats went 12-6 in the SEC, losing to Vanderbilt by seven in the SEC tournament opener. It was a sign of things to come in the NCAA Tournament. After defeating No. 11 Providence by eight points, Kentucky lost again to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament. The third-place Wildcats got 27 points from Marquis Norwell and won 75-69.
2024
Reaves will use his extra season of eligibility to return for the 2023-24 season and will be joined by freshmen Rob Dillingham, Reed Shepherd and DJ Wagner. The Wildcats were his second-highest scoring team in college basketball this season, scoring 89.4 points per game while allowing nearly 80 points per game. Only 18 teams allowed more points than Kentucky. Kentucky lost 97-87 to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament opener, which boded poorly for the postseason, as Oakland's Jack Goelke hit 10 3-pointers in an 80-76 loss.
