The 1977âÂÂ78 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team were coached by Joe B. Hall. The team finished the season with a 30âÂÂ2 record and SEC Championship and won the 1978 NCAA Championship over Duke, 94âÂÂ88. Noting the all-or-nothing pressure exhibited on the team by Kentucky fans, Hall remarked before the title game that "This season was without celebration for us."
Those who witnessed it call Jack Givens' 41 point game against Duke in the 1978 NCAA championship game one of the finest performances in the game's history. Givens made 18-of-27 shots in leading Kentucky to its fifth national championship and first in 20 years. This team also had a pair of bruising frontcourt players in Mike Phillips and Rick Robey and a great point guard in Kyle Macy. The Wildcats went on exhibition tour of Japan in June following the season's end.