1966 NCAA University Division basketball championship game
Wins in three games at home gave the Wildcats a 6–0 win–loss record, and the team was selected at number ten in the AP Poll, having previously been unranked.
[6] After three more victories by margins of 10 points or more, the Wildcats began play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on January 8, 1966, at Florida.
The team reached number one in the AP Poll in the February 8 rankings, and Kentucky's undefeated streak continued into early March.
With a 103–74 win over Tulane, Kentucky completed the regular season with a record of 24–1 (15–1 in conference play), and had the top ranking in the AP Poll.
[10] In contrast to Kentucky, who sportswriter Michael Wilbon later called "as white as milk", the Miners' entire starting lineup consisted of African-Americans.
The Miners then faced Cincinnati in a contest that went into overtime; they emerged with a 78–76 win and a berth in the regional final against Kansas.
The Miners won by seven points against Utah to reach the national championship game, overcoming a 38-point effort by the Utes' Jerry Chambers.
[8] The game took place on March 19 at Cole Field House, on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, in front of an announced crowd of 14,253 fans.
It was preceded by a third-place contest between the losing teams in the Final Four, Duke and Utah; the Blue Devils won 79–77.
[15] The Miners fielded an all-black starting lineup for the championship game, becoming the first team ever to do so in an NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament final.
"[9] Riley won the opening tip for Kentucky, but the referee ruled that he had illegally jumped too early and awarded possession to Texas Western.
[9] Defensively, the Wildcats utilized a 1–3–1 zone; in response to their move, Haskins opted to start three guards in the Miners' lineup, as Worsley joined Hill and Artis.
[9] The sequence gave the Miners a larger lead, and was described by writer Frank Deford as a turning point in the game.
"[9] Future college basketball coach Gary Williams, who was in attendance, later complimented the Miners' ball movement, recalling that "There were possessions where Texas Western passed it 10 times before taking a shot".
[17] Kentucky rallied to within a point of Texas Western in the opening three minutes of the second half,[13] but could not catch them even when they had three shots in a row to achieve a tie.
[16] Texas Western ultimately took a nine-point advantage and was able to control the pace; Gordon S. White Jr. of The New York Times wrote that their margin was "safe enough for the fancy ball-handlers to slow the game during the last three minutes.
[13] Dribbles by Cager took the final few seconds off of the clock, as the Miners won 72–65 to earn the NCAA University Division title.
[20] The 1966 NCAA University Division Championship Game is primarily remembered for Texas Western's victory with its entirely African-American starting lineup, which challenged stereotypes of the era.
"[14] Before the game, the Miners were portrayed in the media as a team with weak defending and an up-tempo offense, when their actual playing style was vastly different.
[14] After leading Texas Western to the championship, Haskins received many racist letters, along with some claiming that he was exploiting black players.
[9][b] Large college programs began to more actively recruit African Americans for their basketball rosters, removing unofficial quotas that had been in place.
