Best UK regular season game [Archive] - Wildcat Nation Forums

blue cincy

05-01-2008, 11:19 AM

Cant remember the year. Down to UT with on seconds to go and Chapman brings UK back to win being down by 7. I do believe he tried to dunk on their 7 footer that night.

I was also at the #1 gaytor game. That was great also.

TrueblueCATfan

05-01-2008, 11:35 AM

Feb. 2003, absolutely mopping the floor with the #1 ranked Florida Gators.

you beat me to it.............BEST game ever..I was there and it was awesome

my other one is 98 Duke( even though that was not regular season)

abroo588

05-01-2008, 11:41 AM

you beat me to it.............BEST game ever..I was there and it was awesome

my other one is 98 Duke( even though that was not regular season)

You know, I honestly believe that on that particular night, there was no team in the country that could have beat us. That was unreal.

KWICD

05-01-2008, 11:45 AM

The Little brother game. UL coming off their 80's run. A bad Kentucky team whooping up on them on their own court. I can still remember Rob Lock dunking on Pervis Ellison.

crazzedcats22

05-01-2008, 12:06 PM

Feb. 2003, absolutely mopping the floor with the #1 ranked Florida Gators.

hard to argue with that. My senior year at UK, front row of the eRupption zone, it was awesome!!

Craig the Blueheart

05-01-2008, 12:10 PM

The UNC game when Tayshaun went the heck off should be at least an honorable mention here. When he opened the game with those 5 three point shots, I thought the building would explode.

DCCatFan

05-01-2008, 12:41 PM

Just to throw another game out there -- UK vs. the Great Unwashed (i.e. Louisville) at the Village of the Damned (i.e. Freedom Hall) in 2005. The evil ones were absolutely throttling us until we rode Sparks' insane 2nd half to a highly unlikely victory. Watching the perplexed looks on the faces of all of the Louisville coaches/players/fans as he stroked those three free throws was priceless. Sparks had a lot of flaws, but I always felt he gave us a puncher's chance -- and he darn well got us to a Final 4.

CatFanInTheBathtub

05-01-2008, 05:58 PM

I can't pick one, my favorites include most of those mentioned already, and especially the '93 Maui Invite champ. game over arizona (Brassow ! Brassow !) that is considered reg. season, right ?

others I must mention include ED's tip in for the win @Miss st. in '03, or was it '04? And you could even say the ut game at Rupp this year. I don't think I've ever been prouder of a team than that night.

poodoo

05-01-2008, 07:23 PM

Feb. 2003, absolutely mopping the floor with the #1 ranked Florida Gators.

That one is hard to beat, although I, too, can't pick just one. Rupp was ELECTRIC! The Tayshaun STRETCH against UNC is the best stretch ever. :icon_biggrin: The second half at Vandy, which started that 19-0 SEC run and route to the top overall seed, was the most special half. Oops! I almost forgot second half against Duke in '98, on the route to the championship. That one wins the best second half, I guess, but the tenacious defense and comeback against Vandy in Nashville had been just UNREAL.

The 31-point comeback against LSU was also unreal, of course. By the way, two of my favorites are recent ones, the wins over UT and Florida THIS season, when Rupp was also electric. I loved that team's HEART and HUSTLE. :icon_biggrin:

I was fortunate to see all of these in person except for the comeback against LSU and the game against Duke. What wonderful memories they are! :big_grin: Thanks for starting this thread, John Clay Rice, Jr.

84Cat

05-01-2008, 08:26 PM

The UNC game when Tayshaun went the heck off should be at least an honorable mention here. When he opened the game with those 5 three point shots, I thought the building would explode.

One of my favorites for sure. I was there it was almost as loud as I've ever seen Rupp.

My favorite: 1980, UK vs LSU (heavily favored to win) in Rupp: Loudest I've ever seen any game, period. Sam was unreal - blocking everything in his zip code. UK wins on a block by Sam into the cheap seats.

jwade

05-01-2008, 08:50 PM

Other memorables:

1986: 34-point win against UL. Freshman Chapman goes off.
1978: Comeback from 7 down with 35 seconds remaining, without the 3-point shot, against Kansas and Darnell Valentine.
1970: Issel/Maravich shootout in Memorial.

Jim

Sticeman

05-01-2008, 09:22 PM

I have a couple, at least one that no one has mentioned,

1. 2004 versus Inidana, 81-39- I was sitting in the IU section of the RCA dome it was so much fun to rub in defeat to all my friends which are IU allums.

2. 96-versus LSU 84 points in the first half, just an absolute marvelous performance by one of the greatest teams of all time.

3. The Vanderbilt game where Nazie hit the game winner and the whole team including Tubby sprinted of the court in victory.

Terry L. Wildcat

05-02-2008, 03:30 AM

What's the best UK regular season game to you? To me it's either 31 point comeback or win over Shaq.

Excellent question and a very hard one...the two you mentioned are classics and personal favorites and here's another:

12/07/1957...triple overtime....Kentucky 85 Temple 83

I was a sixth grader and my dad and I were listening to the game on his electirc GE radio in Newport...at the end of the first overtime Vernon Hatton hit a shot from forty-seven feet or so to send it into the second overtime...to this day I think the radio jumped off the table from the noise in Memorial Colesium.

SamKat

05-02-2008, 06:29 AM

The UK very late comeback to win versus Kansas in a UKIT tournamernt championship game. Dwight "the Blur" Anderson and Kyle Macy were unquenchable. In those years, kansas could never beat our Cats.

CatFanInTheBathtub

05-02-2008, 07:15 AM

Other memorables:

1978: Comeback from 7 down with 35 seconds remaining, without the 3-point shot, against Kansas and Darnell Valentine.

my Dad was at that game, and I have the program from it ! he said he got tickets late so didn't make it over from Louisville until the second half, and then his friend wanted to leave with 30 sec left, thinking it was over. But my dad said no and they stayed for the comeback.

CatFanInTheBathtub

05-02-2008, 07:17 AM

2. 96-versus LSU 84 points in the first half, just an absolute marvelous performance by one of the greatest teams of all time.

hey, give us some credit...we scored 86 in that first half !
watched that one with a group in Keeneland Hall, that team was just too good.

Tom Blevins

05-02-2008, 07:25 AM

Dec 27th, 1969. Kentucky vs. Notre Dame. Notre Dame's All American guard, Austin Carr got hot and Kentucky looked to be in trouble. But Mike Pratt put the Cats on his back and scored 42 points as Kentucky won 102-100. Dan Issel added 35 to help Kentucky's cause, while Carr finished with 43 for the Irish. But it was Pratt who dominated the game down the stretch.

cumberlandredskin

05-02-2008, 07:49 AM

February of 1980 when Kyle Macy hits a last second shot to beat LSU at Baton Rouge to win the SEC regular season title. I think this is one of the most overlooked great wins by a UK team.

jwade

05-02-2008, 08:05 AM

my Dad was at that game, and I have the program from it ! he said he got tickets late so didn't make it over from Louisville until the second half, and then his friend wanted to leave with 30 sec left, thinking it was over. But my dad said no and they stayed for the comeback.

I was there until the end as well. Moody85, who I'm now married to (we weren't even dating at the time) left early. I still give her grief about it on occasion. And then I shut up. :icon_biggrin:

I think I've got a .wmv file of that game.

Jim

ProfJT

05-02-2008, 08:35 AM

12/07/1957...triple overtime....Kentucky 85 Temple 83

I was a sixth grader and my dad and I were listening to the game on his electirc GE radio in Newport...at the end of the first overtime Vernon Hatton hit a shot from forty-seven feet or so to send it into the second overtime...to this day I think the radio jumped off the table from the noise in Memorial Colesium.

Terry, as another 'old timer,' I'd have to second your nomination of this game. I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Memorial. The game was tied with 1 sec. to go in regulation and Adrian Smith missed a mid-court shot for the win. Same scenario with 1 sec. to go in 1st OT and Hatton drains it from the same spot. UK goes on to win in 3 OTs. Quite a few people left during the time out before Hatton made his shot. Of course, Memorial exploded when the shot went down, and the people who had left came running back asking, "What happened!"

Even though I was only 12 at the time, this is still the best game that I have ever seen.

poodoo

05-02-2008, 10:49 AM

3. The Vanderbilt game where Nazie hit the game winner and the whole team including Tubby sprinted of the court in victory.

There had been a thread about that one recently, but I don't think anyone had mentioned that THRILLING victory here on this thread. :big_grin: Also, I remember an exciting, improbable comeback win in the last minute or two during the Chapman years, against UT if I'm not mistaken. Does anyone have any more details on that one?

DCWildcat

05-02-2008, 11:17 AM

I'm a young one, so I missed a lot of the good old ones. But it'd be hard to top Feb 4, 2003 for me. I have the whole game saved on my computer, and it's just amazing. Wish I could've been there. It sounds like Rupp is about to erupt into mob violence. I also remember that as the bright spot of Barbour's unfortunate career.

poodoo

05-02-2008, 05:59 PM

lextownboi

05-03-2008, 06:31 AM

one of my fav is when we knocked off #1 maryland in rupp when they had steve francis (dnt remember the year)

05-04-2008, 01:12 PM

This year, against UT. Patterson, Smooth, JC, everybody just played their hearts out and we came out on top. Never in my life has a performance made me shed a tear until that game. That's when I realized that I was going to be a UK fan for the rest of my life.

That, or the 2003 routing of Florida, or the 16 point halftime come back in Cheatem Hall in 2005. That, or the Vanderbilt win this year, or the Championship game in 98'.

Man, I love Kentucky.

EDBAGA15

05-04-2008, 03:14 PM

Don't remember the year, but Swoop with the tipin to beat the Ville.

Terry L. Wildcat

05-04-2008, 03:28 PM

Terry, as another 'old timer,' I'd have to second your nomination of this game. I was fortunate to be in the crowd at Memorial. The game was tied with 1 sec. to go in regulation and Adrian Smith missed a mid-court shot for the win. Same scenario with 1 sec. to go in 1st OT and Hatton drains it from the same spot. UK goes on to win in 3 OTs. Quite a few people left during the time out before Hatton made his shot. Of course, Memorial exploded when the shot went down, and the people who had left came running back asking, "What happened!"

Even though I was only 12 at the time, this is still the best game that I have ever seen.

Wow, what a great game to have attended...I didn't get to see a live game till I was a soph in high school. The Temple game in the NCAA was also quite a game!

Sticeman

05-04-2008, 06:04 PM

hey, give us some credit...we scored 86 in that first half !
watched that one with a group in Keeneland Hall, that team was just too good.

Whoops! must have gotten if mixed up with one of the other blowouts that year:thumbup:

Sticeman

05-04-2008, 06:06 PM

February of 1980 when Kyle Macy hits a last second shot to beat LSU at Baton Rouge to win the SEC regular season title. I think this is one of the most overlooked great wins by a UK team.

I remember that game I was 6 months old, I was watching it from my baby crib. My mom said I jumped out of the crib and went running down the street screaming in victory:icon_lol:

FCFS82

05-04-2008, 06:16 PM

Back-to-back last second wins over Mississippi and Oklahoma in back-to-back days (Saturday, Feb. 28th & Sunday, March 1st).

I was a 10-year old kid and my uncle had gotten me tickets to both games.

:thumbup:

westtncat

05-04-2008, 08:43 PM

Terry L. Wildcat

05-04-2008, 09:20 PM

Im gonna get killed for this but...while we lost the game, the 92 duke game is one of the all time best games i have ever watched. I hate that we lost but the interview with Pelphrey after the game killed me. I have never felt for a team like I did after that game. That team proved to me that winning isnt everything. The most heart of any UK team I have ever watched. Although I must say this years team hit a soft spot with me too. Anyone who watched the interview with Pelphrey after that game knows what Im talking about.

IMHO no Wildcat fan should put you on a hit list ;) The best game we lost but too painful for me to watch again...however, once I got off the floor, stopped crying and talked to my dad I was soooo proud I was good to go...I will always remember my wife, Nancy, patting me on the back and saying nothing as I lay on the floor shaking and crying.

poodoo

05-06-2008, 04:26 PM

IMHO no Wildcat fan should put you on a hit list ;) The best game we lost but too painful for me to watch again...however, once I got off the floor, stopped crying and talked to my dad I was soooo proud I was good to go...I will always remember my wife, Nancy, patting me on the back and saying nothing as I lay on the floor shaking and crying.

I know that is a special memory for you, Terry. By the way, like you, I have chosen never to watch the game again. It was indeed too painful. Also, for such a long time I felt guilty for being so down about a basketball game. Regardless, yes, along with the sadness, I felt such PRIDE in that UK basketball team after its performance in that heartbreaker.

CatFanInTheBathtub

05-06-2008, 05:15 PM

Im gonna get killed for this but...while we lost the game, the 92 duke game is one of the all time best games i have ever watched. I hate that we lost but the interview with Pelphrey after the game killed me. I have never felt for a team like I did after that game. That team proved to me that winning isnt everything. The most heart of any UK team I have ever watched. Although I must say this years team hit a soft spot with me too. Anyone who watched the interview with Pelphrey after that game knows what Im talking about.

that game is one of my favorite all-time, and easily my favorite loss ever. but since it wasn't regular season, it can't be one of the best regular season games ever, which is what this thread is about.

CatFanInTheBathtub

05-06-2008, 05:22 PM

one of my fav is when we knocked off #1 maryland in rupp when they had steve francis (dnt remember the year)

thanks for bringing that up. I don't remember that game so looked it up.
It was 98-99 and Heshimu had 31. Him and Padgett combined for 56 of our 103 points !

http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/Games/19981212Maryland.html