Sunday, February 28, 1999
Kentucky fighting for tournament seed
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For this crop of Kentucky players and their coach, coming down to the wire in a fight for conference tournament seeding is a new experience.
That's exactly where the 13th-ranked Wildcats are, though, heading into today's regular-season finale at Tennessee.
Win, and Kentucky (22-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) is champion of the SEC East, with an automatic bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Lose, and the Wildcats could well find themselves having to win four games in four days to defend their tournament title.
“I think this has the air of a — it is a championship game,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said, apparently still finding it hard to believe his Wildcats are in this position. “It is for the Eastern Division championship, for that seeding, so there's a lot on the line.”
On top of everything else, Tennessee (19-7, 11-4) is playing for its first sweep of its border rivalry with Kentucky in 20 years, following the Vols' 47-46 win at Rupp Arena on Jan. 12.
Only the top two finishers from each SEC division get first-round byes in the conference tournament.
While tournament seeds and winning the East are concerns, Kentucky center Michael Bradley said his primary motivation going into today's game is is revenge.
“That one was ugly,” he said of the Wildcats' January loss to the Vols, when Kentucky was held to its lowest point total in 12 years and shot just 31 percent from the floor. “We tried to forget that one.”
Smith, for one, hasn't forgotten.
The Kentucky coach complained after the loss that his players became stagnant and backed down when confronted with a physical opponent like Tennessee.
He returned to the theme Friday, repeatedly stating that he wants his team to be more “blue-collar” in its play, more willing to take charges on defense and dive on the floor in pursuit of loose balls.
“Sometimes you have to be "naughty by nature,'” Smith said, invoking the name of a rap group, “and these guys just aren't.”
One Wildcat who has been plenty naughty, at least according to referees, is Bradley's backup, Jamaal Magloire. Magloire picked up his third and fourth technical fouls of the season in Wednesday's home win over Vanderbilt, earning an automatic ejection.
Smith said that he thought Magloire was innocent of both fouls that were called Wednesday.
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