There is a common debate about which Kentucky basketball team is the best in since the turn of the century; is it the 2011-2012 team that went 38-2 and dominated their way to a National Championship, or is it the 2014-2015 team that arguably had the most depth ever seen on a college basketball roster?

A survey was sent out by CBS Sports to college basketball head coaches around the country, asking them who they believed was “The best college basketball team of the 21st century.”

The teams receiving the majority of the votes include: 2023-24 UConn (17%), 2000-01 Duke (14%), 2025-26 Michigan (14%), 2017-18 Villanova (12%), 2006-07 Florida (11%), 2011-12 Kentucky (10%), 2014-15 Kentucky (7%).

Some of these teams showed dominance throughout the entire season, like UConn, who lost just three games in the regular season and cruised their way to the National Championship while winning by an average of 23.3 ppg in March Madness; others scrapped their way through the regular season, finding a way to win games all year long.

Each fanbase of their respective team has their own reasons as to why their team is the greatest, and that’s the fun that sparks the argument: Who is the greatest college basketball team of all time?

Let’s take a dive into the UK teams that are mentioned on this elite list of teams.

2011-2012 Kentucky

“They had only two losses, right? One was at the buzzer [at Indiana]. They had the first and second picks in that draft. You look at their tournament run, their championship game — they dominated another really good team,” one coach said.

This Calipari squad crushed their way through the regular season, with just one loss coming in a non-conference game against Indiana thanks to the infamous last-second shot by IU forward Christian Watford. The Wildcats then didn’t lose again until the SEC Tournament, where they got upset by Vanderbilt by a score of 71-64.

After the loss to the Commodores, the Cats went on a tear through the Madness by getting revenge on the Hoosiers in the Sweet 16, then beating their arch rival: the Louisville Cardinals, in the Final Four to book their ticket to the National Championship.

Calipari’s squad then had a date against another blue blood team in the Kansas Jayhawks, where UK landed the last punch and won their 8th National Championship by a score of 67-59.

This UK squad had a total of SEVEN guys making their way to the NBA after their time with Kentucky. Some of the notable names from this team include: Anthony Davis, who is a 10-time NBA All-Star; Doron Lamb, who averaged 13.7 points for the Cats, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who at the time was one of, if not the best, freshmen in the NCAA. Other players from this team that made the league include Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague, Darius Miller, and Kyle Wiltjer.

This Wildcat team had some notable wins in the regular season that include Kansas at a neutral site (Champions Classic), North Carolina at home, Louisville at home, then making it through a gauntlet of SEC play undefeated before the SEC tournament.

That squad stands out above the majority of other UK teams, but do they stand above the 2014-2015 NBA Wildcats?

2014-2015 Kentucky

“2014-15 Kentucky to me was the most dominant team of the last 25 years. As we know, they didn’t win the national championship, but they were incredible all year!”

“I think it’s 2015 Kentucky. I don’t think it’s close. Two wins away from immortality. They had KAT. I mean, look at the guys that didn’t start. Look at Devin Booker; he didn’t even start on that team. That was Cal’s best team.”

It is hard to fathom that UK had NINE future NBA players on the 2014-2015 roster: Aaron Harrison, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Andrew Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson, Tyler Ulis, Marcus Lee, and Alex Poythress

This squad was incredibly balanced, with not one player averaging more than 11 PPG, while eight players averaged over five points. And one of the craziest facts is that NBA All-Star Devin Booker didn’t even start on this team.

Coach Cal’s Ten-man rotation was named the “Platoon” system, thanks to his ability he had to sub players in and out in a mass rotation.

After seeing the talent this team had, they surely won the National Championship, right?

Wrong.

They didn’t even make it to the championship game after getting their hearts ripped out by the Wisconsin Badgers led by Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky in the Final Four.

Even though Cal’s squad fell short, their season remains one of the most statistically dominant in college basketball history, including a record-breaking +20.1 average scoring margin over the course of the season.

Most college hoops lovers can agree that if this team had made it all the way and won the National Championship, they would be among the greatest college basketball teams of all time, and the first team to go undefeated since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers.

Both UK teams had their high points and low points.

The 2011-12 team got upset while ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, but redeemed themselves by winning a National Championship.

The 2014-15 team had nine future NBA players and went through the regular season and SEC tournament undefeated, but failed to win the National Championship.

UK fans can pick their poison as to who they believe the greatest Kentucky team since 2000 is…

Does the 2014-2015 team not cut it due to the fact that they came up short of the ultimate goal of a National Championship?

Or does the 2011-2012 team take the edge thanks to their relentlessness and grit, leading to an 8th banner?

This week has not been kind to the Kentucky Basketball program.

As the team returns to practice and conditioning less than a month from Big Blue Madness, transfer Mark Mitchell decommitted from the program on Monday to return to Missouri amid eligibility battles with the NCAA and SEC. On Friday morning, it was reported that Milan Momcilovic has injured the index finger of his shooting hand.

Fortunately, Momcilovic suffered this injury still two months away from the start of the season and is expected to return within 10 days.

The injury bug has hindered the Wildcats severely in Mark Pope’s first two seasons at Kentucky. In year one, the Wildcats had to battle injuries to Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, and Andrew Carr, and in year two, injuries to Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance, and Kam Williams.

Going into a high-pressure year three, the injury bug has made an early impact, but let’s hope it remains minor.

Just over a week ago, Kentucky appeared to have completed its roster with the commitment of Mark Mitchell. Now, after the surprising news that Mitchell will instead re-enroll at the University of Missouri, the Wildcats are left with an open roster spot again.

Kentucky lost a guaranteed starter in Mitchell. The star transfer would’ve provided some much needed physicality at the power forward position and immediately would’ve been a ceiling raiser for the 2026-27 Cats.

Now, the question stands: Does Mark Pope and the staff decide to stick with the roster they have built, or will they be looking for an extremely late addition to this year’s roster?

There are a couple notable names still available with all of the fifth-year eligibility suits going on this summer, that being Minnesota forward Cade Tyson and, less likely of an option, Purdue forward Trey Kaufmen-Renn.

Kaufmen-Renn was drafted 59th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves this past year and has already spent five years at Purdue. However, he only played four seasons after redshirting his freshman year, making his eligibility situation different from Tyson’s.

Tyson, on the other hand, would make the most sense for a last-minute addition. Tyson if made legally available would be a great addition for Kentucky, by adding an additional sharpshooter to pair with Milan Momcilovic.

Kentucky doesn’t necessarily have to fill out the last roster spot to be a good team. With Malachi Moreno’s return and the addition of Momcilovic, this team has two players that are All-Conference, if not All-American caliber players.

The question is now lying with the starting power forward. The Cats currently have a 7-foot forward in Ousmane N’Diaye and a 6-foot-8 forward in Justin McBride.

N’Diaye played for Vanoli Cremona in Italy’s top division last season, where he averaged 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 28 appearances. McBride played for James Madison last year where he had a breakout season, averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.1 minutes per game.

N’Diaye brings size and overseas experience to the team, but McBride gives the Wildcats a proven scorer who can stretch the floor. However, neither of these players are the players that Mitchell would’ve been based off of last season.

Crazier things have happened, so they both have the potential to play their roles very well.

Ultimately, Kentucky doesn’t necessarily need to fill its final roster spot. Pope already has the pieces to have his team go a decent way in the SEC and the NCAA Tournament. If a player such as Tyson potentially becomes available, he would be an addition worth thinking about.

Throwing a new player into an already bonded team may not be the best move, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt the stat sheet.