February 26th: On this date....

..... in 2005, your fifth-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats stormed back from a 36-29 halftime deficit at #16 Alabama via the smoking hot shooting of Patrick “Booger” Sparks. The Western Kentucky transfer could do no wrong in the second stanza as he hit five three pointers (7-10 overall) to help Kentucky outscore Bama 49-35 after the break to win going away. Sparks ended the game with a season high 26 points, and the Cats as a team were a blistering 13-19 from behind the arc on the afternoon. One of the other highlights of the comeback was a Sparks’ assist on a fastbreak to the trailing Woo for a dunk I’m not even for sure Woo thought he had in him. It was a tomahawk slam from halfway down the lane that helped Big Blue Nation forget about the grenades he usually threw towards the backboard. Tubby’s squad shot 56% from the field, 68% from 3-point range, and 65% from the free throw line. Kelenna Azubuike had 15 points and super walk-on Ravi Moss was a perfect 3-3 for 10 huge points. But the day belonged to Sparks, as his NBA-range three’s will on point to get past the Elephants. The win clinched the SEC regular season title for the Cats, their 43rd overall, and our last until 2010.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach