No. 1 losing to an unranked team not as rare as some might think
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After unranked Evansville beat No. 1 Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Tuesday, Sam Cunliffe said what he and his teammates accomplished was “amazing.” And “unbelievable.” And “surreal.”
But it wasn’t unprecedented. No. 1-ranked teams have lost to unranked opponents 63 times since The Associated Press began ranking the top 25 teams in the 1948-49 season. Of those 63 games, 32 were played on the No. 1 team’s home court.
Kentucky is no stranger to a home-court advantage and loftiest of ranking not resulting in victory.
The 67-64 loss to Evansville was the third time a No. 1ranked Kentucky team lost to an unranked opponent in Lexington.
No. 1 UK lost in Memorial Coliseum to unranked Georgia Tech, 59-58, on Jan. 8, 1955. Despite
the loss, Kentucky remained No. 1 for another month.
Unranked Auburn beat No. 1 Kentucky, 53-52, in Rupp Arena on Jan. 9, 1988. Sophomore John Caylor made the winning 3-point shot for Auburn with 10 seconds left. UK would not again be ranked first until January of 1993.
Other times an unranked opponent has shocked the college basketball world by beating the No. 1-ranked team include:
• Chaminade, an NAIA school, beating No. 1 Virginia, 77-72, in Honolulu on Dec. 24, 1982.
• Villanova beating defending national champion Georgetown 66-64 in the 1985 NCAA Tournament finals, which was played in Rupp Arena.
• Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, unranked UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) upset No. 1 Virginia in a first-round game in 2018. It was the first time a 16-seed beat a No. 1 seed.
• In 1966, Rupp’s Runts propelled undefeated Kentucky to a No. 1 ranking before losing at unranked Tennessee on March 5, 1966.
• And UK’s eventful national champions of 2012 lost at unranked Indiana, 73-72, when Christian Watford made a shot at the buzzer.
Kentucky’s peers at the pinnacle of college basketball are not immune to losing at home to unranked opponents while being at the top of the top 25.
North Carolina has lost six home games to unranked opponents while ranked No. 1: to Wake Forest in 1982, to Maryland in 1986 and 2008, to Georgia Tech in 1994, to N.C. State in 1998 and to Boston College in 2009.
No. 1 Duke lost to unranked Syracuse at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 14 of last season.
And No. 1 Kansas lost to unranked Long Beach State in Allen Fieldhouse in 1993.