The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 42nd consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,500.

The team, led by John Calipari in his ninth season as head coach, was a member of the Southeastern Conference.

On January 22, 2018, following losses to South Carolina on the road, and to Florida at home, the Wildcats fell out of the AP rankings for the first time since March 2014.

They earned the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Davidson and Buffalo to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Kansas State.

[6] On April 3, 2017, De'Aaron Fox announced that he was leaving the program to enter the 2017 NBA draft, and would forgo his remaining eligibility.

[7] On April 4, 2017, Malik Monk, in a release to the fanbase, stated that he intended to enter the NBA draft and sign with an agent, thus ending his remaining eligibility with the program.

[8] On April 6, 2017, Isaiah Briscoe announced that he was leaving Kentucky to enter the 2017 NBA Draft, and would sign with an agent, forgoing his remaining eligibility.

[9] On April 12, 2017, Isaac Humphries announced that he was leaving Kentucky to pursue a professional career in basketball and will sign with an agent, and would forgo remaining eligibility.

[10] On April 24, 2017, Bam Adebayo stated that he intended to sign with an agent, thus ending his remaining eligibility with the program.

[12] Nick Richards, a native of Kingston, Jamaica who moved to Queens, New York in 2013, was the first commitment in the Kentucky class.

P. J. Washington, a Dallas native attending school in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the second commitment in the Kentucky class.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, originally from Hamilton, Ontario and attending school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the third commitment in the Kentucky class.

[16] Jemarl Baker, a native of Eastvale, California, was the seventh commitment in the Kentucky recruiting class.

He averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals for Roosevelt High School in Corona, Calif., and he quickly emerged as one of the Wildcats' top backcourt targets after their season ended last month.

[19] Sources: Immanuel Quickley, from Havre de Grace, Maryland, was the first commitment in the Kentucky's 2018 class.