SPORTS

by Joshua L. Yonts

Every University of Kentucky fan remembers what they were doing in 1992, the night the shot was heard around the Bluegrass. The shot that I am referring to is the one that Christian Laettner hit to knock the Wildcats out of the NCAA tournament and a Final Four berth.

Many people have asked the question "Was that the greatest game ever?" Although it gave birth to the Unforgettables and many great memories, the greatest game ever occurred March 22, 1998 in St. Petersburg, Florida in yet another regional final between the same teams, Duke and UK, only with a different outcome.

During the course of the 1998 college basketball season, the team to beat was the Duke Blue Devils. For the majority of the year, they were ranked number one in the nation and never fell below second. UK, on the other hand, had started out ranked fourth in the nation in many polls, only to lose some big games to unranked opponents to fall to seventh in the country.

As the season progressed the two teams simply got better, especially the Wildcats. The players simply were getting more adjusted to their new head coach, Tubby Smith, and his system. UK won the SEC tournament in fairly easy fashion, while Duke lost the ACC tournament to the then-number one team in the nation, North Carolina.

Duke entered the NCAA tournament as the number one seed in the South region, while Kentucky was the number two seed in the same region. Everyone was anticipating a match-up between the two teams, who had not met since that fateful day in 1992. Both Duke and UK won their first three tournament games in impressive fashion, and the two were to play for a chance at the Final Four in Texas.

The time was here, and the game began. The first half was a sloppy one for the UK Wildcats, one that saw them fall behind by as many as 18 points, only to cut the lead to six. But, some Duke baskets and a last second three before the half gave the Blue Devils a 10 point cushion. The second half started out much like the first, and the Cats fell behind by 17 points with under ten minutes to play.

Then Kentucky went on an 11-0 run to cut the Duke lead to six. The turning point of the game occurred when Duke forward Roshown McCloud gave UK guard Jeff Sheppard an elbow to the jaw, resulting in an intentional foul. On one possession, the Duke lead was cut to only two.

The two teams traded baskets until a long rebound went to UK senior Cameron Mills, who hit his first shot of the tournament, a three, to give the Cats the lead at 80-79 with only 2:15 left to play.

With 39.4 seconds left and the score tied at 81, Scott Padgett hit a three to give the Cats a three point cushion. Duke was unable to score or to call any time-outs, so they had to foul. Kentucky guard Wayne Turner hit one out of two free throws to give Kentucky a four point lead. McCloud hit a three to cut the lead to one, and once again Duke was forced to foul. Allen Edwards, a UK senior forward still mourning the death of his mother prior to the SEC Tournament, split a pair of free throws to give the Cats the lead for good.

Kentucky erased a 17 point deficit in less than 10 minutes against an extremely good Duke team to come away with victory. Not only did the Cats win a tournament game but a moral victory for the fans. I feel that the Unforgettables can now feel redeemed in some sort, knowing that their beloved team advanced to the Final Four with a stunning win over Duke.

So I ask, could this be the greatest game ever?

return