Due to major recruiting violations committed by Pitino's predecessor Eddie Sutton, the 1991–92 Wildcats were coming off a three-year postseason ban where the team was not allowed to compete in tournament play.

The Wildcats' run in the NCAA tournament would end in a regional final against Duke that is often cited as the greatest college game ever played.

The heavily favored Blue Devils survived an overtime thriller on Christian Laettner's last-second shot at the buzzer.

The legacy of "The Unforgettables" was so great within the university that the UK program decided to retire the players' jerseys (but not their numbers) almost immediately after their final tournament game.

National and local sports news outlets continued to cover the players in "where are they now" and similar features for at least 25 years after the tournament.