The 2019–20 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in the

2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 5, 2019. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded prematurely on March 12, 2020. The 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was sch ...

. The team played its home games in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

for the 44th consecutive season at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...

, with a capacity of 20,545. The Wildcats were led by

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

in his 11th season as head coach and played in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. They finished the season 25–6, 15–3 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They were set to be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament was cancelled amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. With the SEC Tournament cancelled, they were awarded the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was also cancelled due to the

. Officially, the Wildcats finished No. 7 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 8 in the AP Poll.

Previous season

The

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

finished the 2018–19 season 30–7, 15–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second. In the SEC tournament, the Wildcats defeated

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, but were defeated by

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in the semi-finals of the tournament. The Wildcats received an at-large bid NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian, No. 7 Wofford, and No. 3

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to advance to the Elite Eight. There, they lost to the No. 5-seed Auburn.

Offseason

Departures

On April 9, 2019, P. J. Washington announced that he would be entering the 2019 NBA Draft and would sign with an agent. However, due to changes in NCAA rules that took effect with the 2019 draft, signing with an agent no longer automatically results in loss of NCAA eligibility. On April 16,

Tyler Herro Tyler Christopher Herro ( ; born January 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed “Boy Wonder”, he played college basketball for one year with the Ken ...

announced that he would remain in the NBA draft, forgoing his remaining eligibility. The following day, two more players announced their departures, with Keldon Johnson announcing he would leave Kentucky and stay in the 2019 NBA draft and Jemarl Baker announcing his intention to transfer from Kentucky.

2019 recruiting class

In May Kentucky announced the completion of its 2019 signing class. It ranked as a consensus top-three class for the eleventh straight season under Calipari. The 2019 class consists of forward Dontaie Allen (Falmouth, KY), forward Keion Brooks Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN), guard Johnny Juzang (Studio City, CA), guard Tyrese Maxey (Garland, TX), and forward Kahlil Whitney (Chicago). On May 9, 2018, Maxey committed to become the first member of the class. He chose Kentucky over offers from

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Maxey was ranked as the consensus #2 ranked point guard in the 2019 class, and became a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

. On August 2, 2018, Allen committed to Kentucky over offers from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. On March 5, 2019, Allen was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball. On August 8, 2018, Kahlil Whitney committed to play basketball for UK over offers from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and Georgetown. Whitney is the third commitment to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #19 overall in the 2019 class by 247 sports. On March 15, 2019, Keion Brooks Jr., from

Fort Wayne, IN Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, committed to play basketball for Kentucky over offers from Michigan State and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Brooks is the fourth recruit to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #23 overall in the 2019 by 247 sports. On May 10, 2019, Johnny Juzang committed to play basketball for Kentucky over an offer to play for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Juzang is the fifth commitment to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #32 overall in the 2019 class by 247 sports.

Incoming transfers

On April 4, 2019,

Nate Sestina Nathan Michael Sestina (born May 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Bucknell and Kentucky. Early life Sestina was born in St. Marys, ...

announced that he would transfer to Kentucky for the 2019–2020 season. Sestina was named second team All-Patriot league for Bucknell and averaged 15.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG in his final year with the Bisons. As a grad transfer, he is eligible to play immediately under NCAA rules.

2020 recruiting class

On July 27, 2019, Brandon Boston Jr. committed to play basketball for the University of Kentucky over offers from

and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. Boston is the first commitment to the 2020 recruiting class and the #2 ranked shooting guard in the 2020 class by 247 sports. Cam'Ron Fletcher, from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, is the second commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on August 4, 2019, and chose Kentucky over

. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #36 overall by 24/7 Sports. Power forward Lance Ware, from

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, is the third commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on September 12, 2019, and chose Kentucky over

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #32 overall by Rivals. Two days later, on September 14, 2019, SF Terrence Clarke from

Brewster Academy Brewster Academy is a co-educational independent boarding school located on in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, United States. It occupies of shoreline along Lake Winnipesaukee. With around 350 students, it serves grades nine through twelve and po ...

pledged to Kentucky. Clarke is one of the most highly regarded prospects in the 2020 class, with most services ranking him among the top five players overall.

Other news

As part of a major renovation of Rupp Arena, included within a larger expansion project for the attached

Central Bank Center The Central Bank Center (formerly known as Lexington Center) is an entertainment, convention and sports complex located on an site in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. It features a convention center, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and Rupp Arena. It open ...

convention complex, nearly half of the upper arena bowl, originally consisting entirely of bleacher seating, was refitted with chairback seats during the 2019 offseason. This reduced the arena's basketball capacity by nearly 3,000—from 23,500 to 20,545. On January 27, 2020, it was announced that Lexington Center's overall

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

were sold to Central Bank, a local community bank, by the Lexington Center Corporation and JMI Sports, which handles the multimedia rights for both the LCC and the University of Kentucky. The Rupp name will continue to receive primacy in the fourteen-year agreement for the arena portion of the complex, and be known as "Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center".

Roster

Depth chart

Schedule and results

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Bridgestone Arena Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predat ...

Nashville, TN , -

SEC tournament

The Wildcats received the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament. However, the 2020 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament was cancelled before the Wildcats played their first game, due to the

. Kentucky was officially the league champion by SEC rule.

2020 NCAA men's basketball tournament

Like the SEC Tournament, the NCAA tournament was cancelled amidst concern over the health of participants as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons Kentucky basketball, men, 2019-20 Kentucky basketball, men