December 26th: On this date...

... in 1998, doesn’t necessarily go down in Kentucky history, but it happened nonetheless. I only do this because the man is one of Joe B. Hall’s best friends nowadays and you have to respect the great career he had. It was Denny Crum’s last win v. your University of Kentucky Wildcats, 83-74. Defending National Champion Kentucky came into Freedom Hall that day ranked #3 in the country and boasted a 10-2 record. It was Big Blue’s second straight loss (lost to Duke three days before Christmas), something that hadn’t happened in four years. The Cats actually had sixteen more shots than the Cards, but the Cards were on the free throw line all day long. They capitalized from the charity stripe to start Tubby Smith off 0-2 vs. Louisville to start his Kentucky head coaching career. Wayne Turner (11 points - 4 rebounds - 4 assists) and Scott Padgett (13 points - 5 rebounds) kept us close, but the team shot an uneasy 2-15 from behind the arc to seal our fate. Hopefully this gets your blood boiling for the upcoming tilt v. the junior college down the road.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach