The 1957–58 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The head coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum. This squad was often nicknamed the "Fiddlin' Five". The team finished with an overall record of 23–6 (12–2 SEC). Kentucky advanced to the Final Four of the 1958 NCAA Tournament. In the semifinals they beat Temple and won their 4th National Championship with an 84–72 victory over Seattle.

Roster

Schedule and results

2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide . Retrieved 2015-Apr-11.

NCAA Championship

The 1958 NCAA Championship game was played in Louisville, Kentucky, before a then NCAA finals record crowd of 18,803, at the newly completed Freedom Hall. Seattle was Kentucky's opponent, led by the great Elgin Baylor. Baylor, a Consensus First Team All-American, was the nation's second-leading scorer (32.5) behind Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson (35.1).

The Chieftains led Kentucky by 11 points in the first half on two occasions. In fact, Seattle was still leading by a score of 60–58 with seven minutes to go in the game. However, led by the sharp shooting of Vernon Hatton and Johnny Cox, Kentucky mounted a strong rally at the end, eventually winning the game by a final score of 84–72. Hatton led Kentucky with 30 points, Cox followed him with 24 points for the Wildcats, while Seattle was led by Baylor, who scored 25 points before fouling out. The victory sealed Kentucky's 4th NCAA Championship.

Statistics Vernon Hatton 17.1 ppg Johnny Cox 14.9 ppg John Crigler 13.6 ppg Adrian Smith 12.4 ppg Ed Beck 5.6 ppg

2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball media guide . Retrieved 2015-Apr-11.

Awards and honors Johnny Cox All-SEC (1st Team – Coaches, 2nd Team – AP) All-NCAA Regional Team All-NCAA Final Four Team

John Crigler All-SEC (3rd Team – AP)

Adrian Smith All-American (1st Team – Converse, Helms) All-SEC (1st Team – Coaches, 2nd Team – AP) All-NCAA Regional Team All-NCAA Final Four Team

BigBlueHistory.net. Retrieved 2016-Jan-22.

Team players drafted into the NBA Round Pick Player NBA Club 2 10 Vernon Hatton Cincinnati Royals 3 28 Johnny Cox New York Knicks 15 85 Adrian Smith Cincinnati Royals

References