NCAA at 75 - College Basketball
43. Kentucky, 1998
The 1998 Wildcats certainly weren't as talented as Kentucky's other seven national championship teams, but no UK squad was as resilient as the "Comeback Cats." While playing in Smith's methodical style of "Tubby Ball," Kentucky finished 35-4 and won a national championship despite not having any of the All-Americans or future NBA lottery picks that were abundant on previous Cats teams under Rick Pitino. UK earned its moniker during the final three games of the NCAA tournament. The Cats came from 17 points behind to beat Duke 86-84 in the regional finals, and then erased a 10-point deficit in the second half of an 86-85 overtime victory over Stanford in the national semifinals. In the national championship game, UK spotted Utah a 10-point lead at the half before winning 78-69.
-- Mark Schlabach
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