February 24, 1999

LEXINGTON, Ky. – At least three basketball players will feel nostalgic inside Rupp Arena when No. 13 Kentucky plays its final home game of the regular season against SEC rival Vanderbilt.

Heshimu Evans, Scott Padgett and Wayne Turner were all keys to the Wildcats national championship squad a year ago. The trio will be honored prior to Wednesday’s contest against the Commodores, when they will try to move a step closer to clinching their second consecutive Eastern Division title.

The team needs two wins to clinch the division.

“It’s good to have a Senior Night and to be recognized,” said Padgett, who averages a team-high 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. “But we’ve also got to concentrate on Vanderbilt. They’re coming off a big win and it would make their season to beat Kentucky.”

The Commodores (13-13, 4-10) got 30 points from Dan Langhi in an 81-75 win Saturday over Alabama. On the same day, Kentucky (21-7, 10-4) saw its six-game winning streak over Arkansas come to an end with a 74-70 loss in Fayetteville.

“They were much quicker than we were,” said Wildcats coach Tubby Smith. “It seemed we would get one hand on the ball and they would get two.”

Padgett and Jamaal Magloire led Kentucky with 14 points each.

One of the biggest differences between the two teams is the amount of success each has had from behind the 3-point arc. Vanderbilt, which has lost 12 straight in the series, ranks 15th in the nation, averaging eight treys per game.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, are the worst 3-point shooting team in the conference, converting just 30 percent of their shot for the season.

Despite the long-range statistical edge, Kentucky won the first meeting at Vanderbilt, 73-57, on Jan. 9.