Kentucky notches career win No. 2,000
Published 3:21 am Tuesday, December 22, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s 2,000th victory looked awfully familiar.
DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson scored 18 points apiece and the third-ranked Wildcats became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-win plateau with an 88-44 romp over Drexel on Monday night.
Kentucky improved to 2,000-635-1 in 107 seasons. North Carolina is next on the list with 1,992 wins while Kansas has 1,980.
“We weren’t a part of many of those 2,000 wins and we had a job to do and that was drag us across the line before that other blue team got there,” coach John Calipari said. “This is a special moment for this program and this state.”
The Wildcats did it in style, taking control early behind the play of Cousins, Patterson and superstar freshman John Wall to improve to 12-0.
Samme Givens led Drexel (6-6) with 11 points, but the Dragons shot just 31 percent from the field and spent most of the game as invited guests to Kentucky’s celebration.
The first win was an 11-10 squeaker over the Lexington YMCA on Feb. 18, 1903.
It took Kentucky 66 years to reach 1,000 victories. Students celebrated the milestone with cake alongside legendary coach Adolph Rupp at Memorial Coliseum in 1969.