On Tuesdays throughout the 2015-2016 season we will take a
trip down memory lane and look back at past great plays, players and games
associated with University of Kentucky men’s basketball for that given week. So
be sure to check back with us each and every Tuesday to relive the moments that
make the winningest Division I men’s basketball program so special.
Dec. 20
• 1932:
Kentucky proved to be too much for Tulane, racing out to a 27-8 halftime lead
over the Green Wave and never looking back in a 53-17 victory. This was
Kentucky’s first-ever conference game as a member of the Southeastern
Conference. Kentucky’s defense held Tulane to just five made field goals the
entire game. The Wildcats’ John DeMoisey almost outscored the Green Wave by
himself, chipping in 16 points.
• 1958: No.
2 Kentucky was in the middle of an offensive shootout, clinging to a 54-50
halftime lead over No. 7 West Virginia. The Wildcats held onto the lead in the
second half to prevail over the Mountaineers 97-91 in the UKIT Championship.
The Wildcats had four players score at least 16 points, with Sid Cohen leading
the team with 23 points. Johnny Cox and Don Mills helped in the victory as
well, each recording a double-double. Future Hall of Famer Jerry West scored 36
points for the Mountaineers.
• 1969: No.
1 Kentucky was in a battle with Duke in the UKIT Championship, deadlocked at 45
at halftime. But the Wildcats blew the game open in the second half, outscoring
the Blue Devils 53-31 in the final twenty minutes for the convincing 98-76
victory. Current UK Sports Network analyst Mike Pratt had a double-double for
the Wildcats, leading the team in both points (26) and rebounds (11).
• 1983: The
Cincinnati Bearcats and head coach Tony Yates used an in-game strategy that
frustrated No. 2 Kentucky and head coach Joe B. Hall and may have influenced a
rule change in college basketball. Knowing that his Bearcats were no match for
the Wildcats, and with no shot clock, Yates instructed his players to simply
stall the game by having as few possessions as possible. The Wildcats ended up
winning the game by an ugly score of 24-11, with the Bearcats attempting just
12 shots the entire game. Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin led the team in scoring
with six points apiece. A 45-second shot clock was adopted by men’s college
basketball just two seasons afterwards.
• 1997: The
Tulsa Golden Hurricane had upset on their minds at Rupp Arena, leading No. 4
Kentucky by one point at halftime. But the Wildcats saved their best play for
last, outscoring Tulsa 46-24 in the second half for the 74-53 comeback victory.
Kentucky had three players score in double figures, led by Nazr Mohammed’s 17
points.
• 2003: No.
2 Kentucky appeared sluggish in its first half play against border rival
Indiana, leading the Hoosiers by six points at halftime. But the Wildcats had
one of their most dominating second-half performances in recent memory,
outscoring Indiana 48-15 in the final 20 minutes in their thorough 80-41
victory. Kentucky’s defense limited Indiana to just 24.2-percent shooting from
the field. Chuck Hayes was the top performer for the Wildcats, recording a
double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. This is the largest margin of
victory ever for Kentucky against Indiana.
• 2008:
Kentucky overwhelmed Appalachian State from the tip, taking a commanding 53-21
lead into the locker room at halftime. The Wildcats cruised in the second half
to defeat the Mountaineers, 93-69. But this game was about one player and one
player only. Junior guard Jodie Meeks had one of the best individual
performances in the history of Kentucky basketball. Meeks made nine three-point
field goals, at the time tying a school record, en route to scoring a whopping
46 points in the game. The 46 points were the most ever scored by a Kentucky
player at Freedom Hall and the most points scored by a Kentucky player since
Dan Issel on Feb. 23, 1970.
• 2014: No.
1 Kentucky, known for suffocating defense, had quite possibly their best
defensive performance in a half of the shot-clock era against the UCLA Bruins
at the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago. The Wildcats held the Bruins scoreless
for almost the first eight minutes of the game, jumping out to an unheard of
24-0 lead. It didn’t get much better for UCLA as Kentucky went into the locker
room leading by the astounding score of 41-7 at halftime. The Wildcats cruised
in the second half en route to their 83-44 blowout victory over UCLA. The seven
points allowed by Kentucky in the first half was indeed the fewest points
allowed by the Wildcats in any half of the shot-clock era. It was also the
largest margin of victory ever for Kentucky against UCLA. Freshman Devin Booker
led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points.
Dec. 21
• 1953: No.
2 Kentucky, clinging to a slim three-point at the half against No. 13 Duke,
pulled away from the Blue Devils in the final 20 minutes to secure an 85-69
victory in the UKIT. Senior center Cliff Hagan led the Wildcats in scoring with
27 points. This was the first matchup between Kentucky and Duke with both teams
ranked in the Associated Press Poll.
• 1954: No.
1 Kentucky had a heavyweight matchup with No. 2 Utah in their first game of the
UKIT. The Wildcats raced out to a five-point lead at halftime over the Utes and
never looked back, defeating Utah 70-65. The Wildcats had two players score in
double figures, led by Phil Grawemeyer’s 27 points.
• 1956: No.
7 Kentucky was in a battle with No. 4 SMU in the UKIT, trailing the Mustangs by
five points at halftime. But the Wildcats completed the comeback, outscoring
SMU 36-25 in the second half for the 73-67 upset victory. The Wildcats were
dominant on the glass, resulting in a plus-23 rebounding margin in the game.
Five of the six players who saw action in the game for Kentucky scored in
double figures, led by Gerry Calvert’s 22 points. The Wildcats were also led by
a trio of double-double performers, Ed Beck (14 points and 17 rebounds), Johnny
Cox (14 points and 14 rebounds), and John Crigler (12 points and 13 rebounds).
• 1957: No.
5 Kentucky, losing in their opening game of the UKIT, took out its frustrations
against No. 10 Minnesota in their UKIT consolation matchup. The Wildcats had a
13-point lead at halftime and cruised to a 78-58 victory over the Golden
Gophers in a battle of top-10 teams. Vernon Hatton led Kentucky on offense with
21 points, while Johnny Cox led the defense with 21 rebounds.
• 2002: No.
16 Kentucky was aided by the emotional antics of opposing head coach Mike Davis
in a 70-64 upset victory over No. 6 Indiana at Freedom Hall. With the Wildcats
clinging to a one-point lead with just seconds left in the game, Davis ran onto
the court during a play in which he thought one of his players was fouled. The
referee gave Davis two technical fouls and he was ejected from the game. Senior
guard Keith Bogans calmly sank five of his six free throws to seal the victory
for the Wildcats. As a result of those free throws Bogans led the team in
scoring with 17 points.
• 2009: No.
3 Kentucky had no problems with Drexel at Rupp Arena, taking a 36-point lead
into the locker room at halftime en route to their doubling up of the Dragons,
88-44. This was a milestone win for the Wildcats as they became the first
Division I men’s basketball program to reach 2,000 wins. DeMarcus Cousins and
Patrick Patterson tied for the team lead in scoring, chipping in 18 points
apiece.
Dec. 22
• 1953: No.
2 Kentucky, with a five-point lead against No. 16 LaSalle at halftime,
outscored the Explorers 41-33 in the final 20 minutes to secure the 73-60
victory in the UKIT Championship. The Wildcats had three players score in
double figures, led by Cliff Hagan’s 28 points.
• 1954: No.
1 Kentucky, in a rematch of the previous season’s UKIT Championship with No. 4
LaSalle, prevailed yet again with a 63-54 victory over the Explorers. Billy
Evans led the Wildcats in scoring with 20 points.
• 1956: No.
7 Kentucky, with a six-point lead at the half against No. 5 Illinois, extended
its lead in the final 20 minutes by outscoring the Fighting Illini 51-36 for
the 91-70 upset victory in the UKIT Championship. Junior guard Vernon Hatton
led the Wildcats in scoring with 25 points.
• 1962: No.
9 Kentucky, trailing No. 7 West Virginia by five points at halftime, outscored
the Mountaineers 50-41 in the second half to secure the 79-75 upset victory for
the Wildcats in the UKIT Championship. Kentucky was led by the duo of Cotton
Nash and Roy Roberts, who combined to score 49 points and pull down 29
rebounds.
• 1979: No.
3 Kentucky, trailing No. 9 Purdue by four points at halftime, outscored the
Boilermakers 36-31 in the second half to squeak out a 61-60 victory in the UKIT
Championship in a battle of Top 10 teams. Kentucky was led by a pair of
18-point scorers, Fred Cowan and Kyle Macy.
Dec. 23
• 1950: No.
1 Kentucky, deadlocked in a tie at the half against No. 13 St. John’s, pulled
away from the Red Storm in the second half to prevail with a 43-37 victory at
Old Madison Square Garden. Junior center Bill Spivey led the Wildcats in
scoring with 15 points.
• 1961:
Kentucky, with the help of 30 made free throws, upset No. 4 Kansas State 80-67
in the UKIT Championship. The Wildcats’ defense also aided in the victory,
holding Kansas State to 31.6-percent shooting from the field. Larry Pursiful
led Kentucky in scoring with 26 points, while Roy Roberts recorded a
double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
• 1974: No.
18 Kansas couldn’t keep up with No. 20 Kentucky in the second half, with the
Wildcats outscoring the Jayhawks 58-34 in the final 20 minutes to secure the
100-63 upset victory at Freedom Hall. Kentucky was aided by their hot shooting,
55.4 percent from the field. Kevin Grevey led the Wildcats in scoring with 29
points.
• 1978: No.
11 Kentucky took a commanding 15-point lead into the half against No. 8
Syracuse and never looked back, upsetting the Orange 94-87 in the UKIT
consolation game. The Wildcats had five players score in double figures, led by
Chuck Aleksinas’ 20 points.
• 1993: No.
5 Kentucky and No. 13 Arizona were in a battle in the Maui Invitational
championship game that went down to literally the final second. Khalid Reeves
made two free throws to give Arizona a one-point lead with 5.5 seconds left.
Rodrick Rhodes attempted a three-point field goal in the final seconds that was
off the mark, but Jeff Brassow was at the right place at the right time as he
tipped in the miss at the buzzer for the thrilling 93-92 victory for the
Wildcats. Kentucky was led in scoring by Travis Ford’s 25 points.
• 1995: No.
4 Kentucky used their suffocating defense to force No. 25 Louisville into 23
turnovers in the Wildcats’ 89-66 blowout victory over their intrastate rival.
Kentucky had four players who scored in double figures, led by Tony Delk’s 30
points.
• 1999:
Kentucky trailed No. 5 Michigan State by one point at halftime at Rupp Arena
and used the home-court advantage to outscore the Spartans 33-30 in the second
half for the 60-58 upset victory. The Wildcats were led by Jamaal Magloire, who
recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Dec. 24
• 1983: No.
2 Kentucky, trailing Illinois by seven points at halftime, outscored the
Fighting Illini 30-21 to avoid the upset and prevail with a 56-54 victory. Due
to extremely bad weather in Champaign, Ill., the assigned referees could not
make it to the game on time. As a result, local referees were pulled out from
the stands to officiate the game. Kentucky was led on offense by a pair of 11-point
scorers, Sam Bowie and Jim Master. This is the only game that the Wildcats have
ever played on Christmas Eve.
Dec. 25
• Kentucky
has never played on Christmas Day
Dec. 26
• 1951: No.
1 Kentucky dominated No. 18 UCLA in the second half, outscoring the Bruins
45-23 in the final 20 minutes in the Wildcats’ 84-53 blowout victory at
Memorial Coliseum. Junior center Cliff Hagan was spectacular for Kentucky,
scoring 34 points. This was the first game for Kentucky against legendary coach
John Wooden.
