January 5th: On this date...

... in 1993, Rick Pitino and his team had a bit of a scare when on their way to Athens to play Georgia. On the way down the runway to takeoff, the pilot noticed a mechanical issue. The plane’s engine was smoking. This forced the athletic department to call on their boosters to try and get a private plane for the trip. The boosters responded in the short amount of time with four planes in which to choose. Once the team survived the trip down to Athens, the rest was all business. Kentucky led by 14 at halftime, on their way to a 74-59 victory. The win gave the eventual Final Four team its tenth straight win to give the #2 Cats a 10-0 mark on the young season. Jamal Mashburn led all scorers with 26 points on 9-20 shooting and scored at will against the overmatched Georgia defense. Mash also added five assists and three rebounds. Travis Ford finished an efficient 4-5 from the field, 3-4 from 3-point range, and 4-4 from the charity stripe, to finish with 15 points - 4 assists - 2 rebounds. It was estimated that 40-45% of the 9,824 in attendance were wearing Blue.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach