March 7, 1998
ATLANTA (AP) – Kentucky dismantled 40 minutes of hell with 20 minutes ofperfection.
The seventh-ranked Wildcats destroyed No. 16 Arkansas’ vaunted pressuredefense Saturday, shooting 63 percent in the first half and coasting to a 99-74victory in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Kentucky (28-4) built a 58-33 halftime lead and Arkansas (23-8) never gotcloser than 20 the rest of the way. Twelve players scored for the Wildcats andfive were in double figures, led by Jeff Sheppard with 17 points.
Kentucky advanced to play Sunday in the title game against the winner of theother semifinal, No. 10 Mississippi vs. No. 15 South Carolina. The Wildcats areseeking their sixth championship in seven years and 21st overall – no otherschool has more than six.
Arkansas has yet to win the tournament during its seven years in the SEC,but the Razorbacks’ scoring record, set the previous night in a 102-96 victoryover Tennessee, remained intact when Kentucky let up down the stretch.
Arkansas lost 80-77 in overtime at Kentucky during the regular season andliked its chances playing on a neutral court, though thousands of blue-cladWildcat fans transformed the Georgia Dome into Rupp Arena South.
It didn’t matter where this game was played. The Razorbacks were leftdefenseless against Kentucky, which had no trouble breaking the traps anddouble teams that comprise Arkansas’ “40 Minutes of Hell” style of play.
After enduring three Kentucky dunks in the first five minutes, Arkansastried to pull back closer to the basket, but that only freed up things aroundthe 3-point line.
Sheppard and Cameron Mills both hit three 3s in the opening period andKentucky went 7-for-13 beyond the arc. Sheppard had 15 points by halftime.
Overall, the Wildcats connected on 22-of-35 from the field for the half, andthat’s not all. Kentucky dominated the boards (26-11), dished out 16 assists,came up with five blocks and made all seven attempts at the foul line.
Arkansas, on the other hand, hit only 10-of-35 shots (29 percent), including2-of-10 outside the arc.
Scott Padgett, who scored 11 points in the first half, was involved in twoof the signature plays.
First, Mills tried to deflect the ball off Tarik Wallace while falling outof bounds, but it skipped between the Arkansas player’s legs – and right toPadgett under the basket for the easy lay-in.
A couple of minutes later, Padgett came up with one of his three blocks, theball winding up with teammate Wayne Turner, who raced up court and found awide-open Sheppard for another 3-pointer.
Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson knew there was nothing his team could do. Heremained seated through most of the game, chatting with an assistant while theWildcats pushed their lead as high as 29 points.
Only one thing didn’t go Kentucky’s way. Sheppard appeared to sprain hisleft ankle while driving for his first basket of the second half. He spent therest of the game on the bench with a large ice pack on his leg, the extent ofhis injury not immediately known.
