January 14th: On this date...

... in 2003, your #16 University of Kentucky Wildcats apparently got a halftime speech of a lifetime from head coach Tubby Smith as they came out and destroyed Vandy in the second half to win going away, 74-52. Vandy came out on fire hitting five consecutive three-pointers in route to a 25-11 lead at the midpoint of half one. By halftime, the Commodore lead had been cut to eight. The second half of basketball was possibly the greatest of basketball played under Tubby while at Kentucky. The Cats outscored their opponent 46-16 in the final frame to cut the halftime deficit into a 22-point victory. Whatever it was Tubby said in the locker room had a profound effect on the rest of the season. Kentucky won every game they played in the SEC, finishing 16-0 for the regular season. They also won the SEC Tournament in 2003, making them the first and only team to sweep regular and post season honors in SEC history. Tubby’s defensive specialists went on to win 26 straight games and went into the NCAA Tournament as the #1 team in the country. A 27th straight win would have resulted in a Final Four berth. I can sum up the ending of the season with two words: Dwyane Wade.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach