January 9th: On this date...

... in 1991, your #11 University of Kentucky Wildcats took out unranked Mississippi State, 89-70, in front of 23,990 fans at Rupp Arena. This game is significant because Big Blue stole the ball from the Bulldogs a program record 23 times in route to the comfortable victory. It was at this point, Kentucky fans really got a taste of what their team would look like for the near future. A frenetic, up-and-down pace that would make the opposing team do things they either weren’t accustomed to, or make them think much more than they needed. And all of this was being done without the necessary horses, while on probation. The Cats were led by Jamal Mashburn (24 points - 8 rebounds), Reggie Hanson (19 points - 9 rebounds), and Sean Woods (10 points - 7 assists). Rick Pitino finished his second season as UK’s head coach ranked ninth in the AP poll with a 22-6 record. The 14-4 Conference mark was good enough for best record in the SEC, but was not recognized due to probation. I’m guessing this put the other SEC schools on notice, as a team on probation just won/dominated your Conference.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach