Dec. 23, 1999
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – A win over fifth-ranked Michigan State was a dreamcome true for Kentucky guard J.P. Blevins.
“I can remember when LSU came in here with Shaquille and Chris Jackson, Iremember the noise that was made that game,” Blevins said, recalling a famous1990 upset pulled by Rick Pitino’s first Kentucky team. “I said, `One day, I’mgoing to be in there, playing in front of 24,000 roaring fans.”‘
On Thursday night, it was Blevins keying another Kentucky upset, 60-58 overthe Spartans (8-3). This time, the Rupp roar was for the sophomore from thetiny town of Edmonton. Ky.
Coming off the bench, Blevins’ defense rallied the Wildcats (6-4) from 15points down. He scored all nine of his points on 3-pointers, with the lastputting Kentucky ahead to stay 50-49 with 7:18 left.
“After I hit my second 3, I started feeling it a little bit, so I knew thenext time I got any kind of a look to just throw one up,” he said.
The Wildcats widened the margin to as much as 58-51 before Michigan Staterallied on a 3 by A.J. Granger and two field goals by Charlie Bell.
The Spartans got to 60-58 and had the ball for a final shot, but AndreHutson’s baseline shot was blocked by Tayshaun Prince and Morris Peterson’srebound tip-in attempt was no good as time expired.
It was not the shot coach Tom Izzo wanted.
“I had so many guys in foul trouble and so many guys that played a lot ofminutes that I wanted a 3-point shot,” he said. “We passed up a couple ofshots that maybe I would have taken.”
Jamaal Magloire led Kentucky with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Prince added17 points.
“It was a good win for us because they were a ranked team and they were agreat team,” Magloire said. “We’re trying to be considered one of the greatteams. Right now, I think we’re a good team, but we keep winning games likethis, we’ll be right there with the rest of them.”
Peterson led the Spartans with 18 points. Jason Richardson had ninerebounds.
Last spring, Michigan State kept Kentucky from reaching its fourth straightFinal Four, eliminating the Wildcats 73-66 in the NCAA tournament MidwestRegion final.
The rematch featured very different teams. Kentucky was without fourstarters and one key reserve from last year’s squad, while Michigan State wasmissing star guard Mateen Cleaves, sidelined with a broken foot.
The Spartans were playing their third tough road game in three weeks,following a win at North Carolina and a loss at Arizona.
“I didn’t think we handled the adversity as well as we could,” Izzo said.”We seemed to crack a little bit.”
Two weeks ago, Kentucky fell out of the top 25 for the first time in nineyears with a 4-4 record. The Wildcats now have responded with a 76-46 win overin-state rival Louisville and the upset of the Spartans.
“We’ve played a tough, competitive schedule and that helped us tonight,”Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “Our guys understand that there are going tobe battles and wars. It has really helped this young team mature.”
A Kentucky victory looked highly unlikely with 6:13 left in the first half,when Michigan State finished an 11-0 run to lead 26-11.
The Rupp crowd, buzzing at the game’s start, was quiet as the Wildcatsappeared to have no answers on defense and seemed helpless to score against theSpartans’ zone.
Slowly, almost painfully, Kentucky worked its way back into a physical game,tightening its defense with a mix of zones, traps and man-to-man and limitingMichigan State to Peterson’s two free throws for the remainder of the half.
Blevins, averaging 2.2 points per game coming in, turned the tide,energizing his teammates with frenetic defense and timely shooting. Thesophomore hit a 3-pointer to make it 26-18 with 3:23 left, then stole the ballon Michigan State’s next possession.
“J.P. has been gaining confidence every day with his ballhandling, and Iwas impressed with the aggressiveness he showed,” Smith said.
Suddenly, it was Kentucky on a 16-2 run to close the half, pulling to 28-27at the break.
Michigan State threatened to pull away again at the start of the secondhalf, scoring the first six points. Again, though, Kentucky rallied, withBlevins again playing a key role.
Inserted in the lineup with 13:51 left and the Wildcats trailing 39-32,Blevins almost singlehandedly drove Spartans point guard Charlie Bell to thebench with his harassing defense. With 10:25 left, he made another 3-pointerthat closed the gap to 46-45.
Seconds later, when Peterson got the ball on a breakaway, Blevins chased himdown and knocked away a slam-dunk attempt.
After Magloire’s basket inside reduced Michigan State’s lead to 49-47,Blevins made his third and final 3, giving the Wildcats their first lead since2-0.
