December 26, 1998
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A lot of people were surprised by Louisville’s upsetof No. 3 Kentucky. However, none of them played for Louisville.
“There was no doubt in my mind we could beat them,” forward Tony Williamssaid after the Cardinals beat the Wildcats 83-74 Saturday at Freedom Hall. “Weall knew we could do this. This is our house and we’re going to protect ourhouse.”
Marques Maybin scored 19 points, including seven straight late in the secondhalf, as Louisville beat its bitter intrastate rival for the second straightseason.
Williams and Cameron Murray each added 14 points as Louisville (5-2), bannedfrom postseason play by the NCAA earlier this year, won its third consecutivegame.
“This was a big win for our kids because everybody thought it was a flukelast year – and it probably was,” said Louisville coach Denny Crum, referringto last year’s 79-76 win at Rupp Arena. “These kids played their hearts outtoday and they played well.”
Kentucky (10-3), which was coming off a 71-60 loss to second-ranked Duke,has lost two straight for the first time since 1994.
“Louisville certainly played a great game and really executed when they hadto,” said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who did not make his players availablefor interviews after the game.
“We had some breakdowns in our full-court pressure and they were able tocapitalize. Their quickness hurt us and their pressure was very effective.”
The Cardinals forced Kentucky into 18 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 46percent shooting from the field, including only 2-of-15 from 3-point range.
Scott Padgett led Kentucky with 13 points, Michael Bradley had 12 and WayneTurner and Ryan Hogan each had 11. But the Wildcats’ trio of seniors – Padgett,Turner and Heshimu Evans – shot a combined 14-of-30 from the field and 0-of-7from behind the 3-point line.
“The key to stopping Kentucky was stopping the three seniors,” saidLouisville senior Alex Sanders, who had five points and nine rebounds. “Westopped Wayne Turner’s penetration, Heshimu Evans’ big plays and ScottPadgett’s shooting.”
After building a 75-60 lead with 4:56 remaining, Louisville failed to make afield goal the rest of the way. However, the Cardinals went 8-of-11 from thefoul line to seal the victory.
“We made some mistakes and did a lot of things that make you scratch yourhead, but that’s the nature of this team,” Crum said. “We played pretty darngood and if we could play that way every night, we’d be a pretty good team.”
Kentucky lost only three games last season en route to its second NCAAchampionship in three years. Meanwhile, the Cardinals finished 12-20, onlytheir second losing season in Crum’s 27 seasons at the school.
After Louisville took a 16-13 lead, Hogan and Turner each scored four pointsduring a 12-2 run to put Kentucky ahead 25-18 with 9:57 left in the first half. Louisville then went on a 16-3 run, including seven consecutive points byNate Johnson, to go up 34-28 with 5:10 remaining.
The Cardinals shot 63 percent en route to a 47-40 halftime lead, and hitconsecutive 3-pointers to open the second half. However, they then missed 13straight shots and Kentucky rallied to cut Louisville’s lead to 55-51 onPadgett’s layup with 12:47 left.
Frustrations boiled over at the final buzzer when Kentucky’s Jamaal Magloirehit Johnson from behind on a layup, sparking a shoving match under the basket.The two had been called for a double technical on a similar play earlier in thesecond half.
