Earlier this season, Kentucky basketball announced the return of the denim uniforms worn by the national champion 1996 UK squad. The initial excitement of that announcement was soon muted by a stretch of some bad basketball through the first couple of games of SEC league play. The date chosen for a celebration of the 1996 team, and the return of the denim unis, would be a Saturday night on February 7th against the rival Tennessee Volunteers. This game looked hopeless for the Cats in early January but somehow managed to turn things around with some comeback wins, one of which was a 17 point come from behind victory in Knoxville against this Vols basketball team. Despite their slow start in conference play , and a poor effort in Nashville against Vandy, the Wildcats found themselves near the top of the SEC standings with a 7-3 record. More importantly, the UK fan base was energized once again and riding a wave of momentum into the big matchup with Tennessee at Rupp Arena.
I took my teenage son wit me for the one hour drive south from our home in Northern Kentucky to Rupp Arena. He’s been somewhat reluctant to attend games since being there for the meltdown against Missouri in early January. I’ve attended games at Rupp since being a student at UK in the 80s and as a season ticket holder for more than 20 years. There are certain game days where you can feel the energy in the building before tipoff and this felt like one of those nights. A pregame celebration at midcourt of the 1996 National Champions added to the buildup before the game.
The game itself did not disappoint and included a fan hitting a half court shot for $10,000 that kept the energy level in Rupp at a fever pitch. The Cats played well in the opening minutes but Tennessee hit a flurry of three point shots late in the first half to take a 14 point halftime lead. Kentucky came out of halftime with a continued aggressive attack on offense and an increased defensive intensity. They quickly cut into the double digit deficit and would eventually dig themselves out of the hole and take the lead on a huge Colin Chandler three pointer. A crucial stop on defense from a questionable Nate Ament fade away and a big offensive rebound off of a missed Chandler free throw helped to seal the win down the stretch. The crowd was great throughout the contest and the loud pop from BBN on that Chandler go ahead three was peak Rupp Arena. It was definitely a top ten crowd in terms of excitement at Rupp and I’m glad and grateful to witness a game like that with my son.
The BBN has had a week to soak in that win but the road ahead is tough. At the time of this writing the Cats would have a double bye in the SEC tournament and are set up for a battle against the Florida Gators for first place in the conference. It would be a lot to ask for Kentucky to win on the road in Gainesville as double digit underdogs. There are seven games left in the regular season and five of the games are currently quad one opportunities to build the resume. Analytic websites like Kenpom and Bartovik project the Wildcats to finish 6th or 7th in the league. I thought in an earlier post that a 10-8 SEC record, given our 0-2 start would be pretty good. I see 10-8 now as our expected floor with 11-7 being a reasonable finish. Let’s see how it plays out as we head towards March. Thanks for reading, and GO CATS!!
