1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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 (1.96 m)—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.

1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC champions NCAA tournament, runner-up
National Championship Game, L 65-72 vs. Texas Western
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	27–2 (15–1 SEC)
Head coach	Adolph Rupp (36th season)
Assistant coach	Harry Lancaster (21st season)
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1964–65 1966–67 →

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. 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),^{[citation needed]} while the Wildcats were all-white (until 1969).

Roster

1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Louie Dampier 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr Indianapolis, IN G 12 Jim LeMaster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So Paris, KY F 22 Gene Stewart 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr Brookville, IN G 24 Bob Tallent 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Langley, KY F 25 Tom Porter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — So Gracey, KY G 30 Tommy Kron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr Tell City, IN G 32 Steve Clevenger 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — So Anderson, IN F 40 Larry Conley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr Ashland, KY G 42 Pat Riley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr Schenectady, NY F 44 Brad Bounds 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr Bluffton, IN C 45 Cliff Berger 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — So Centralia, IL F 50 Gary Gamble 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So Earlington, KY C 54 Larry Lentz 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Sr Lakeview, OH F 55 Thad Jaracz 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So Lexington, KY F Bob Windsor 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr Silver Spring, MD	Head coach Adolph Rupp (Kansas) Assistant coach(es) Harry Lancaster (Georgetown College) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 1, 1965*		Hardin-Simmons	W 83–55	1–0	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 4, 1965*		Virginia	W 99–73	2–0	University Hall  Charlottesville, VA
December 8, 1965*		Illinois	W 86–68	3–0	Assembly Hall  Champaign, IL
December 11, 1965*		Northwestern	W 86–75	4–0	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 17, 1965*		Air Force	W 78–58	5–0	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 18, 1965*		Indiana	W 91–56	6–0	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
December 22, 1965*	No. 10	Texas Tech	W 89–73	7–0	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, TX
December 29, 1965*	No. 5	Notre Dame	W 103–69	8–0	Freedom Hall  Louisville, KY
January 3, 1966*	No. 2	Saint Louis	W 80–70	9–0	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
January 8, 1966	No. 2	Florida Rivalry	W 78–64	10–0 (1–0)	Florida Gymnasium  Gainesville, FL
January 10, 1966	No. 2	Georgia	W 69–65 2OT	11–0 (2–0)	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, GA
January 15, 1966	No. 2	No. 3 Vanderbilt	W 96–83	12–0 (3–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
January 24, 1966	No. 2	LSU	W 111–85	13–0 (4–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
January 29, 1966	No. 2	Auburn	W 115–78	14–0 (5–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
January 31, 1966	No. 2	Alabama	W 82–62	15–0 (6–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
February 2, 1966	No. 2	No. 3 Vanderbilt	W 105–90	16–0 (7–0)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
February 5, 1966	No. 2	Georgia	W 74–50	17–0 (8–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
February 7, 1966	No. 1	Florida Rivalry	W 85–75	18–0 (9–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
February 12, 1966	No. 1	Auburn	W 77–64	19–0 (10–0)	Auburn Sports Arena  Auburn, AL
February 14, 1966	No. 1	Alabama	W 90–67	20–0 (11–0)	Foster Auditorium  Tuscaloosa, AL
February 19, 1966	No. 1	Mississippi State	W 73–69	21–0 (12–0)	McCarthy Gymnasium  Starkville, MS
February 21, 1966	No. 1	Ole Miss	W 108–65	22–0 (13–0)	Gymnasium  Oxford, MS
February 26, 1966	No. 1	Tennessee Rivalry	W 78–64	23–0 (14–0)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
March 5, 1966	No. 1	Tennessee Rivalry	L 62–69	23–1 (14–1)	Armory-Fieldhouse  Knoxville, TN
March 7, 1966	No. 1	Tulane	W 103–74	24–1 (15–1)	Memorial Coliseum  Lexington, KY
NCAA Tournament
March 11, 1966*	No. 1	vs. Dayton Regional semifinal	W 86–79	25–1	Iowa Field House  Iowa City, IA
March 12, 1966*	No. 1	vs. No. 9 Michigan Elite Eight	W 81–80	26–1	Iowa Field House  Iowa City, Iowa
March 18, 1966*	No. 1	vs. No. 2 Duke National semifinal	W 83–79	27–1	Cole Field House  College Park, MD
March 19, 1966*	No. 1	vs. No. 3 Texas Western National Championship	L 65–72	27–2	Cole Field House  College Park, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in 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

See also: 1966 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
3	24	Tommy Kron	St. Louis Hawks