March 28th: On this date....

..... 1998, your #5 University of Kentucky Wildcats narrowly got by a powerful #10 Stanford team in overtime, 86-85, to advance to the NCAA Championship game against old friend Utah. It was becoming apparent that the common theme of this team was the Comeback, as time after time Kentucky saw themselves down early and simply trying to keep the game close. They knew they would ultimately have a big run in them, and were confident enough in their defense to think it would eventually solve the opponents offense. This defensive scheme was probably the greatest strength of first year head coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith. Senior Jeff Sheppard had a monster game, leading all scorers with a career-high 27 points (9-15 FG, 4-8 3PM). The Peachtree City, Georgia-native also added six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Nazr Mohammed ended with 18 points (17 in the second half) and five rebounds and Scott Padgett with 10 points and six rebounds.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach