MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The logos on The Pyramid floor read ''SEC,'' but Kentucky's attitude inferred Final Fours. The Wildcats seized the Southeastern Conference Tournament title Sunday because they acted like elimination was at stake.
''This was our dress rehearsal,'' said UK coach Rick Pitino, after his sixth-ranked Wildcats beat No. 24 Georgia 95-68 for the tourney title. ''This tournament has always been a springboard for us for the NCAAs.''
Though UK (30-4) might have earned an NCAA No. 1 seed even with a loss, it used the atmosphere to approximate the win-or-go-home
atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament.
''It's like your life's on the line,'' UK senior forward Jared Prickett said. ''From here on, if you lose, you're out, and that's how we viewed it today.''
UK has won 20 of the SEC's 37 tournaments and compiled a 90-15 mark in tourney play. UK has won five of the past six tourney titles and is 17-1 (94.4 percent) in Pitino's tenure.
Sunday's was the largest margin of victory in the SEC title game since 1950, when UK beat Tennessee 95-58. (The SEC didn't hold a tournament from 1953-78). UK's 95 points Sunday tied that 1950 total for the most in an SEC final.
The victory Sunday capped an impressive 48-hour run. In that time, UK beat Auburn, Mississippi and Georgia, scoring the most points each opponent had allowed all season.
UK's Ron Mercer, who totaled 20 points and six rebounds Sunday, earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors. But three other players earned gold stars Sunday.
Junior guard Cameron Mills and senior guard Anthony Epps both eclipsed career highs in scoring (Epps had 22 and Mills 16), after each had set his previous best Saturday. And junior forward Allen Edwards returned from a back injury to score 12 points in 18 minutes before leaving with an ankle sprain.
KENTUCKY (95)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Mercer 28 8-14 4-4 4-6 1 3 20
Padgett 18 0-1 2-2 0-2 3 4 2
Prickett 23 4-7 0-1 3-5 3 4 8
Turner 23 1-3 0-0 1-3 4 2 2
Epps 31 6-9 6-6 0-5 4 1 22
Magloire 22 2-4 2-5 1-3 1 3 6
Mills 19 6-9 0-0 0-0 2 2 16
Edwards 18 4-5 3-4 0-0 4 1 12
Mohammed 11 2-2 1-2 1-2 1 1 5
Masiello 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
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TOTALS 200 34-56 18-24 10-26 23 22 95
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Percentages: FG-.607, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
9-16, .563 (Mercer 0-2, Padgett 0-1, Epps 4-5,
Mills 4-7, Edwards 1-1). Team rebounds: 1.
Blocked shots: 4 (Magloire 3, Mohammed).
Turnovers: 12 (Turner 4, Padgett 2, Prickett 2,
Magloire, Mercer, Mills, Mohammed). Steals: 11
(Prickett 4, Edwards 2, Magloire 2, Epps, Mercer,
Padgett).
GEORGIA (68)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Chadwick 15 0-3 1-2 3-3 0 1 1
Nordin 15 5-5 0-0 1-5 0 5 12
Hall 23 1-4 0-1 5-7 0 3 2
Smith 30 2-7 4-4 1-2 5 1 8
Harrison 30 4-9 5-7 1-2 2 3 13
Dukes 23 4-11 2-4 0-0 1 0 12
Baker 13 0-0 1-2 1-1 1 2 1
Brown 11 1-4 0-0 3-4 0 1 2
Jones 14 1-3 1-3 1-1 0 1 4
Oliver 16 2-4 4-5 0-1 1 3 8
Taylor 6 0-0 1-4 0-1 1 0 1
Ransom 4 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 0 4
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TOTALS 200 22-53 19-32 17-29 11 20 68
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Percentages: FG-.415, FT-.594. 3-Point Goals:
5-22, .227 (Chadwick 0-1, Nordin 2-2, Smith 0-4,
Harrison 0-4, Dukes 2-8, Jones 1-3). Team
rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 1 (Baker). Turnovers:
23 (Dukes 6, Baker 4, Hall 4, Smith 4, Brown 3,
Harrison 2). Steals: 5 (Baker, Dukes, Harrison,
Ransom, Smith).
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Kentucky 44 51 - 95
Georgia 29 39 - 68
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Technical fouls: None. A: 19,423. Officials:
John Clougherty, Gerald Boudreaux, Curtis Shaw.
WILDCATS SIGHT BIGGER GOALS March 10, 1997
MONTANA SHEEP FOR SLAUGHTER March 10, 1997
MEN'S BRACKET
Tournament stories
UK 88, MISSISSIPPI 70 March 9, 1997
UK 92, AUBURN 50 March 8, 1997
PITINO SEEKS BETTER SHOOTING, FEWER FOULS March 7, 1997
CATS START TOURNEY AS PAPER TIGERS March 6, 1997
CATS HAVE NINE LINEUPS March 5, 1997
SEC FINAL: UK-CAROLINA? March 3, 1997
