1996 – 97 Kentucky Wildcats men 's basketball team represented University of Kentucky in the 1996 – 97 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . They were coached by Rick Pitino in his eighth season at Kentucky as members of the East division of the Southeast Conference . They played their home games at Rupp Arena in Lexington , Kentucky . They finished the season 35 – 5 , 13 – 3 in SEC play to finish in second place in the East division . They defeated Auburn , Mississippi , and Georgia to win the SEC Tournament . As a result , they received the conference 's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West region . They defeated Montana , Iowa , Saint Joseph 's and Utah to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive year . In the Final Four , they defeated Minnesota to advance to the National Championship game against Arizona . Looking to repeat as NCAA champions , the Wildcats lost in overtime to Arizona 84 – 79
SEC Tournament
1997 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
1996–97 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team