Saturday, March 04, 2000
UK vs. Florida for SEC crown
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Big games are nothing new at Kentucky.
Southeastern Conference Tournament championships and long runs through the NCAA Tournament have been common, if not expected, for decades.
But few regular season games over the years have held the significance of today's showdown with No. 8 Florida at Rupp Arena.
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FLORIDA at UK
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• When: Noon today
• Where: Rupp Arena (23,000), Lexington
• Records: UK 21-8 (11-4 SEC), Florida 23-5 (12-3)
• TV: Ch.12
• Radio: WSAI-AM (1530); WNKR-FM (106.5)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 75-4: UK's Senior Day record, including 34 wins the past 35 years
• 39, 1:SEC titles for UK and Florida, respectively; the winner today clinches a share of the title
• 308th: UK's rank out of 319 Division I teams in 3-point percentage (.284)
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The 22nd-ranked Wildcats (21-8, 11-4) are tied with Tennessee a game behind the Gators in the SEC's Eastern Division. A Kentucky victory and a Tennessee victory at Georgia will produce a three-way tie for the conference championship. And an LSU victory over Mississippi will create a four-way co-champion.
The Gators (23-5, 12-3) already have clinched a share of the conference championship and could win it outright with a victory. On Kentucky's home court. On Senior Day, when the Wildcats have lost only once in the past 35 years.
“We have an opportunity to reach a couple of goals we set at the beginning of the year,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “I think our players appreciate the challenge ahead of them.
“Florida's probably the hottest team in the league right now. They have a lot of depth. They can go 10 deep and I would venture to say they're interchangeable. They're probably as talented as any program in the SEC.”
A victory also will improve Kentucky's position in next week's SEC Tournament, where only the top two seeds receive first-round byes.
If Kentucky wins and Tennessee loses today, the Wildcats would earn the tournament's top seed.
If both Kentucky and Tennessee win, the Vols would claim the tournament's top seed because of a 3-1 record in head-to-head games with the Gators and Wildcats. Since Kentucky would have split with both teams, it would claim the second seed and Florida would get the third seed, forcing the Gators to play an opening-round game on Thursday.
If Kentucky and Tennessee both lose, the Gators would claim the top seed and Kentucky would claim the second seed with a better SEC Eastern Division record than the Vols. And if Kentucky loses and Tennessee wins, Kentucky would drop to the third seed behind the Gators and Vols and play a first-round SEC Tournament game for the first time in more than two decades.
Complicated? Not for Florida coach Billy Donovan, whose team at worst will end up SEC co-champion and top seed in the conference tournament if they beat the Wildcats.
“For us, obviously, there's a lot at stake in this game,” said Donovan, a former Kentucky assistant under Rick Pitino. “The first thing you talk about is having an opportunity to win an SEC championship outright. The second thing you talk about is the SEC Tournament seedings. The third thing is obviously NCAA Tournament seedings.
“I think our guys are happy that, worst case scenario, we've gained a part or all of an SEC championship. We're going to have to go out and show tremendous character against a very good basketball team that's playing well. And being at Kentucky for five years, you realize what a tremendous emotional feeling it is on Senior Day.”
The Gators whipped the Wildcats 90-73 last month in Gainesville. In that game, Kentucky shot only 42 percent while the Gators shot 50 percent with six players finishing in double figures led by Teddy Dupay's 14 points and Udonis Haslem's 13. Leading scorer Mike Miller finished with only 11 points but grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
The Wildcats, however, were without the services of an injured Jules Camara, who was nursing an injured foot. A healthy Camara will play this time around and should provide some much needed depth inside, where the Wildcats were manhandled 49-36 on the boards.
“I was on the bench watching and wanted to do something so bad,” Camara said. “They came out and they were more aggressive than us. They were deeper than us, too, but we've got our full team this time.
“We want to win this game, move on and get a bye in the SEC (Tournament). I'm not looking forward to playing, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No. I want to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday — that's it. It's easier, to be honest. You get tired going into the NCAA Tournament. You don't want to play all those games.”
The game also will be the final Rupp Arena appearances for Kentucky seniors Jamaal Magloire and Steve Masiello. Magloire, the school's all-time leader in blocked shots and the SEC's No. 2 rebounder this season behind Georgia's Anthony Evans, returned to Kentucky for his senior year and has evolved into one of the country's most consistent inside players. His 13 double-doubles leads the SEC.
“Jamaal is the best leader by far in the country,” Masiello said. “Along with Coach Smith, Jamaal Magloire is the reason for our success. We're just riding on his shoulders.”
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