The Wildcats finished the 1995 – 96 season 34 – 2 , 16 – 0 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship . They defeated Florida and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament before losing to Mississippi State in the championship game . They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region . There they defeated San Jose State , Virginia Tech , Utah , and Wake Forest to earn a trip to the Final Four . In the Final Four , they defeated UMass in the National semifinal game and Syracuse in the championship game to win the tournament championship
SEC Tournament
1996 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
1996–97 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team