Sunday, March 05, 2000
Kentucky ties for SEC title
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Did someone say March? At Kentucky, that calendar change commands a championship chase. March is a month, but also a verb, and Saturday the 22nd-ranked Wildcats renewed their readiness to roll on the tournament trail.
UK won a share of the overall Southeastern Conference crown, its 40th, with an 85-70 beating of No.8 Florida at Rupp Arena. It was Florida's worst loss of the season and, arguably, UK's finest hour.
“The Kentucky Wildcats and March always go together,” junior point guard Saul Smith said. “It's kind of like how when the moon comes out, the werewolf changes form. Well, we're kind of changing forms.”
Looking for trends? Tubby Smith has a 16-1 March record at UK, the Wildcats went 20-1 in the SEC Tournament in the 1990s, and they have gone 20-2 in the NCAA Tournament the past four years.
“It's the postseason now, and every postseason we step it up,” senior center Jamaal Magloire said. “This was a statement game. It is letting the SEC know we are serious.”
UK finishes the regular season 22-8 (12-4 SEC), tying with Florida (23-6, 12-4) and Tennessee (24-5, 12-4) for the SEC East Division title. Those three and Louisiana State (25-4, 12-4) tie for the overall title.
UK got the SEC East's No.2 seed in the SEC Tournament. It draws a first-round bye and will play an SEC quarterfinal at 9:45p.m. Friday in Atlanta's Georgia Dome against an op ponent yet to be determined.
Tubby Smith, who has spent the season waiting to exhale, finally did Saturday.
“I couldn't be prouder of a group of young men than I am of this team,” he said. “Think about since last year, how we had guys transfer, the death of (signee) John Stewart, we've probably done more and achieved more than any team I've ever been associated with.
“(Despite) having only 10 guys, we've battled all year long. Back when we were 4-4, people were ready to give up on us, but our kids hung tough. Adversity makes people stronger, and this group is as strong as any.”
These were the Wildcats awaited all winter. Shaking February blahs that had lasted seven games, UK beat the Gators at their own game: running, pressing, shooting 3-pointers.
UK shot 52.9 percent and held Florida to its season-worst total, 35.8 percent. The game was decided in the final 11 minutes of the first half, when UK outscored Florida 32-11, allowing just one basket in that span.
Florida trailed by 21 points before halftime, matching the largest deficit it had seen in any prior game, then fell behind by 26 early in the second half.
“One thing we had on the (locker room) board was for our defense today to be devastating and suffocating, and it was definitely that today,” Saul Smith said.
Five Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Tayshaun Prince with 19 points. One who didn't, Saul Smith, managed a nice line with nine points, five assists and just one turnover. UK even shot well from 3-point range: 9-for-21 (42.9 percent).
UK finished 14-0 at home, extending its home winning streak to 20 games. In Senior Day games, it is now 76-4 since 1920, including 35 wins the last 36 years.
“It's always rewarding to get a title,” Prince said. “We've proven we can beat anybody on any day, but we can also beat ourselves on any given day.”
The key is confidence. In short supply a week ago, it was fairly oozing from the locker room Saturday.
“It's just a matter of us putting it together at the right time,” Saul Smith said. “We always want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season, and we're headed that way. I would not like to be playing us right now.”
Masiello makes 1st start in finale
FLORIDA (70)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Wright 27 1-2 9-12 2-3 0 2 12
Miller 34 7-14 5-6 3-6 1 1 20
Haslem 24 2-6 2-2 1-1 0 3 6
Dupay 16 2-4 0-0 1-3 3 1 4
Weaks 27 5-11 1-1 0-2 0 3 12
Harvey 16 2-6 0-0 2-4 0 5 4
Nelson 25 3-15 1-2 2-3 0 3 8
Hamilton 10 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 0
Bonner 13 2-5 0-0 5-8 0 2 4
Parker 8 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 24-67 18-23 16-31 5 24 70
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.358, FT-.783. 3-Point Goals:
4-19, .211 (Wright 1-1, Miller 1-3, Dupay 0-2,
Weaks 1-6, Nelson 1-4, Hamilton 0-1, Bonner 0-1,
Parker 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots:
None. Turnovers: 11 (Wright 3, Haslem 2, Miller
2, Bonner, Nelson, Parker, Weaks). Steals: 4
(Hamilton, Harvey, Miller, Nelson).
KENTUCKY (85)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Prince 35 6-12 4-5 3-6 3 1 19
Allison 25 4-7 3-4 3-6 3 2 12
Magloire 32 3-6 8-12 5-13 3 1 14
Masiello 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
Smith 28 2-3 3-5 0-1 5 5 9
Bogans 31 5-12 1-2 0-2 1 3 14
Blevins 8 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
Tackett 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Stone 11 2-2 1-2 0-1 0 2 5
Camara 21 5-7 2-2 0-2 1 3 12
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 27-51 22-32 11-32 17 20 85
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.529, FT-.688. 3-Point Goals:
9-21, .429 (Prince 3-7, Allison 1-3, Smith 2-2,
Bogans 3-8, Tackett 0-1). Team rebounds: 5.
Blocked shots: 7 (Camara 4, Magloire, Stone,
Prince). Turnovers: 15 (Allison 5, Bogans 3,
Magloire 2, Prince 2, Masiello, Smith, Stone).
Steals: 1 (Magloire).
__________________________________
Florida 24 46 - 70
Kentucky 43 42 - 85
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 23,916. Officials:
Curtis Shaw, Mike Thibodeaux, Tony Green.
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