March 4, 1999
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP MegaSports Writer
ATLANTA, Ga, (AP) – For most of this decade, Kentucky was on track to the Final Four when itentered the Southeastern Conference tournament.
This time, the Wildcats hope to use the tournament to get back on therighttrack.
The 14th-ranked Wildcats (22-8) enter this year’s SEC tournament withnothing resembling momentum. Kentucky, which battles Mississippi in Friday’squarterfinals in Atlanta, dropped four of its final seven games in the regularseason and is trying to regain the confidence that a defending nationalchampion should have.
“Obviously we’ve lost some tough games on the road and at home,” coachTubby Smith said. “But when I look at the stats from last year and this year,there’s not much difference in the teams. The ball bounces certain wayscertainyears, and obviously it wasn’t our year to get the proper bounces.”
The Wildcats dropped their final four road games, including a 68-61loss atTennessee to close the regular season. That gave the East Division to theVolunteers and dropped Kentucky to an unfamiliar No. 2 seed. It also causedtheseniors to call a players-only meeting to reaffirm their confidence.
“We feel like we can win the (SEC) tournament,” said point guard WayneTurner. “We were making the younger guys realize our season isn’t over. Wejust want them to understand the season is not over yet, it’s not coastingtime, it’s time to put it in overdrive.”
The Wildcats have been able to do that in recent seasons. They havewon sixof the last seven tournaments, winning 20 of 21 games in that span.
Mississippi earned its quarterfinal berth by edging South Carolina,64-60.The Rebels failed to make a field goal in the last 7:21 of the game but weresaved by Jason Smith, who matched a career high with 24 points and grabbed 12rebounds.
Like Kentucky, Mississippi had a series of close losses near the endof theregular season. But the Rebels have a red-hot player in Smith, who isaveraging21.3 points in the last five games.
“He has taken his game to another level the last five games,” said coachRod Barnes.
Kentucky earned a six-point win at Mississippi on Jan. 16.
The winner of this game earns a shot at either regular-season championAuburn or Alabama in the semifinals.
