Just a little under two weeks ago, the Cats were stunned down in Athens at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. They traveled back to Lexington having suffered a 75-68 loss – just the 28th time in the century-old series.
Many had Kentucky written off. The NCAA Tournament appeared to be out the window. Bracketologists had UK either in their “first four out” or just simply not in the tournament at all. Fans of opposing teams trolled us with NIT memes. Even our own fan base was counting the days it had been since we earned that huge win over Houston in the 2019 Sweet 16 – the last time UK won a tournament game.
Now the entire nation is on notice. Kentucky is here, and you don’t want to see them first. The Cats went on the road and came away with a scrappy win in Starkville against an excellent Mississippi State team (whose defense ranks top five nationally). They then came home and completed the sweep against #10 Tennessee (whose defense is #1 nationally) with a monstrous double-digit victory – leading 39-19 at halftime as well. On Wednesday, they left Florida with another tough W. all while being down CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler.
The Cats Come Back
The Cats went from 1-7 in Quad 1 games to 5-7 in just under 10 days. We now have more Q1 wins than Houston, UCLA, Gonzaga, Virginia, Illinois, Duke, Maryland, Arkansas, and Auburn. Realistically, we could see a stellar finish to the season. If the team lands two wins on Friday and Saturday of the SEC Tournament, (because we’ve known for years now the committee doesn’t pay attention to the championship on Sunday) the Cats could play their way into a 6-7 seed range.
Just amazing, considering we were projected to be out of the tournament a few days ago. Look for the Cats to keep this momentum going. Auburn is currently #33 in the NET Rankings, and we need them to get inside the Top 30 for that home game to be Q1. Not immediately declaring a victory, but the Tigers have only won once in Lexington since the series started in 1920.
Big Blue Nation is rejuvenated. Coach Cal is doing an outstanding job of keeping this season alive and creating the possibility for BBN magic in March.
This season is on the brink of something special.
Just keep on with our motto – REFUSE TO LOSE!
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