February 28th: On this date....

..... in 1970, your top-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats outlasted a game Vanderbilt Commodore team, 90-86, in front of a sellout crowd at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. The story of the game, though, was Kentucky All-American Dan Issel (31 points - 15 rebounds) crossed a barrier no other Wildcat had ever crossed. The Batavia, Illinois-native became the first player to score 2,000 points in the storied program’s history. Issel caught and blew past the top scorers on the career list halfway through his senior season and put enough distance between second place to let everyone know he planned on staying there a few years. Names such as Nash, Groza, Dampier, Beard, Hagan, and Riley were left in the scorer’s wake as he was making his own claim to be the best Wildcat ever. The victory moved the #1 Cats to 23-1 on the ‘70 season, leading to a top-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Rupp’s team would get upset in the Regional Finals by Jacksonville, letting a prime opportunity slip away in Issel final chance at a National Championship. Issel never made a Final Four in his three years at Kentucky, despite having some of the best teams in the nation.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach