On April 1 , 2009 , John Calipari replaced former head coach Billy Gillispie as the Wildcats head coach . To begin his tenure at the University of Kentucky , John Calipari signed one of the best all time recruiting classes . The class was headlined by four five-star recruits : John Wall , DeMarcus Cousins , Daniel Orton , and Eric Bledsoe . On December 19 , 2009 , the Wildcats defeated Austin Peay 90 – 69 extending their record to 11 – 0 , and John Calipari broke Adolph Rupp 's record for the most consecutive wins to start a season for a first-year head coach at Kentucky . Kentucky defeated the Drexel Dragons 88 – 44 on December 21 , 2009 , to become the first program in college basketball history to claim their 2000th victory . By January 25 , 2010 , Coach " Cal " had the Kentucky Wildcats ranked No . 1 in both the ESPN/Coaches poll and AP poll with a record of 19 – 0 . By this point , these feats were not even considered his greatest accomplishment at the school , as John Calipari had raised in excess of $ 1.5 million to aid the country of Haiti during the aftermath of a natural disaster . President Barack Obama called the Wildcats to thank them for their relief efforts and wish them luck in their future endeavors . To finish off the 2009 – 10 regular season , Kentucky won its 44th SEC regular season championship ( with a final 14 – 2 SEC record ) , and won its 26th SEC Tournament Championship , beating Mississippi State in the finals . The Wildcats then received a No . 1 seed ( their 10th No . 1 seed in history ) in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament , where they eventually lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight . This also marked Kentucky 's record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance
SEC Tournament
2010 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball