January 8, 1955: The day the greatest home-court winning streak in college basketball, and all sports for that matter, came to an end. The University of Kentucky Wildcats hadn't lost at home since since January 2, 1943, but on this day they would fall to Georgia Tech, 59-58, ending a 129-game streak.
That's over 12 years of winning. That's never losing for 3 presidential terms. The next closest home streak was the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. In an impressive span from 1948-1961, the Bonnies won a total of 99 consecutive home wins. Check out a full list of the top 10 home winning streaks of all time.
Those Kentucky teams were coached by the famous Adolph Rupp. During that winning streak his teams won the NCAA title in 1948, 1949, and 1951. In 1954 the team went 25-0 and was ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press, but at the last minute before the tournament the NCAA ruled some players ineligible, and as a result, Rupp decided to boycott the tournament.
Coincidentally, during the streak on this same day January 8, 1945, Kentucky helped set an NCAA record by holding Arkansas State to 6 points in a 75-6 win. The record is the standard for futility in an NCAA D-I game.
Is the 129-game home streak more impressive than UCLA's 88-game regular season streak under John Wooden? Arguments can be made for both, but regardless, it's an incredible feat that has stood for 60 years now. Here's to you University of Kentucky and your home-winning streak.
