...in 1996, your top-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats gave Nolan Richardson the beatdown he deserved with a 95-75 thrashing of the Arkansas Razorbacks in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Hogs seemed to be a shell of their former selves, as the "40 Minutes of Hell" is just what they got from arguably the best college basketball team ever. Antoine Walker shimmied his way to 21 points - 14 rebounds - 5 assists - 2 steals, giving him player of the game honors. The most scary statistic of the game was the fact senior All-American Tony Delk went only 1-9 from 3-point range. A 20 point victory over the proverbial thorn in our side with our MVP shooting like that was a great sign for Big Blue Nation. Walter McCarty added 17 points - 4 blocks - 3 steals and freshman phenom Ron Mercer contributed 11 points off the bench. The win was the 27th straight for the '96 Cats. The streak would end at 27, though, as Mississippi State would catch us sleeping in the Championship game.
Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach
Mississippi State didn't catch us sleeping that year because State had a very good team of their own. That State team also made it to the NCAA final 4 in '96 where they were beaten by Syracuse. Ky then knocked off Syr. for the championship. I'm glad we didn't have to play State again.
ReplyDeleteI understand that, but the only way you beat the best team ever is to "catch them sleeping".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.