March 20th: On this date....

..... in 1998, your fifth-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats put a beatdown of epic proportions on #19 UCLA and their plastic-faced cheering section, with a 94-68 demolition in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Thirteen Cats saw floor time, led by the trio of Scott Padgett (19 points - 6 rebounds - 4 assists), Jeff Sheppard (16 points - 4 rebounds - 3 assists), and Nazr Mohammed (15 points - 7 rebounds - 6 blocks). It was topped off by minutes logged by Steve Masiello and Ryan Hogan, who hit two three-pointers in his three minutes of play. The Kentucky team best known for coming back on teams, did none of that, as they took it to through the Bruins early and often, jumping out to leads of 11-3, 16-5, 20-5, and 22-9. By halftime, the lead would be 40-23, and the Cats would never look back. The defense by the scrappy Big Blue team would hold Steve Lavin, his hair grease, and others to 29% shooting on the day. The 26-point loss was UCLA's second worst postseason beating in the history of their overrated program's history.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach