Kentucky WBB is in danger of finishing last in the SEC in back-to-back seasons

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kentucky-wbb-danger-finishing-last-sec — Photo by Morgan Simmons | UK Athletics

After finishing just 7-7 in the non-conference part of the schedule, the signs were already apparent of just how much this Kentucky women’s basketball team could struggle going into SEC play. The signs weren’t wrong.

On Sunday, Kentucky lost to Georgia in Athens. With that loss, Kentucky now sits at the bottom of the SEC in 14th place with a 2-7 conference record. Not 12th or 13th, but 14th. That means Kentucky is quite literally the worst of the worst in the SEC. If the ‘Cats can’t go on a surprise run in these last seven games, then they’ll finish as one of the worst Kentucky WBB teams ever in conference play.

A potential revisit to the “dark ages” of Kentucky WBB

Do you remember when Kentucky went to three straight Elite Eight’s and finished in second or better in the SEC in four consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2013? Man, were those the days…

However, a time we’d like to forget as Kentucky women’s basketball fans were the mid-1990s and early 2000s. For those of you that were alive and witnessed it all, you know what I’m talking about. Thankfully, I wasn’t around for that. But that’s beside the point.

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From 1994 to 2004, Kentucky went just 116-166 overall and 35-97 in the SEC under three different head coaches — most of it coming under Bernadette Maddox. In that 10-year span, Kentucky finished last in the SEC three times. When I call that the “dark ages” of this program, I say that with no exaggeration. But, what do stats from 20 and 30 years ago have to do with anything now? Well, it’s simple.

Kentucky is playing at a level right now that we haven’t seen in 20 to 30 years — and not in a good way. If Kentucky were to finish in that position, it would mark back-to-back seasons at the bottom of the league (UK was tied for 14th in 2022-23). Prior to then, the ‘Cats hadn’t finished in last since the 2001-02 season when UK went 9-20 overall and 1-13 in the SEC.

Again, there’s no tip-toeing around the reality of the situation. If Kentucky doesn’t get things figured out starting against Texas A&M this Sunday, Kyra Elzy’s fourth season in charge could be among the worst ever in the history of the program.