In the NCAA Tournament, the Cats dispatched South Carolina State, St. Louis and UCLA rather easily, setting up a regional final against the Duke Blue Devils. Six years after the Laettner shot broke hearts around the Bluegrass, Kentucky had a shot at redemption. In the first half, it appeared that redemption and a third straight Final Four would have to wait as the Blue Devils led by as many as 18 points in the first half and ended up with the lead by 10 at halftime. But a funny thing happened in the second half. Coach K, who had never lost a regional final in NCAA Tournament play was outcoached. The Cats scratched and clawed their way back into the game. Wayne Turner attacked the rim leading to 16 points and 8 assists. Heshimu Evans scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jeff Sheppard had 18 points and 11 rebounds of his own. Duke led 71-60 with about 8 minutes left and it wasn’t until Cameron Mills hit “The Shot Heard ‘Round the Bluegrass” to give UK its first lead of the game, 80-79, with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left. Scott Padgett’s three pointer with 39.4 seconds left proved to be the deciding factor as the Cats won 96-84, exorcising some demons.
Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
The one game from the 1998 NCAA Tournament that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough is the National Semifinal vs. Stanford. Much like their respective coaches, the Cardinal and the Wildcats weren’t flashy, but were hard-nosed and played outstanding defense. The night in San Antonio belonged to UK’s Jeff Sheppard (27 points) and Stanford’s Arthur Lee (26 points). At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 73 with neither team willing to concede and inch to the other. The Cardinal made tons of gritty, clutch plays and the Cats matched them to squeeze out a 86-85 victory. In two of the most pressure packed games where their largest lead was five points, the Cats had gutted out two wins by a grand total of three points.
For most of the 1990s, Kentucky had ended Utah and its head coach Rick Majerus’ season at various stages of the NCAA tournament. And, the Big Blue Nation hoped, the 1998 title game wouldn’t be any different. The Utes led by 10 at halftime. No team before or since has won an NCAA title game by trailing by more than 8 at the half. Not only did the Comeback Cats win, they ended up wining by 9, 78-69. With a team bereft of big name stars and with a coach with far less national “sizzle” than his predecessor, the 1997-98 Wildcats won the school’s seventh title, and second in three years, by talent, yes, but by guts and sheer will.
We all know that Tubby Smith wasn’t able to get the Wildcats back to the Final Four. But I challenge anyone to watch the last three games of the 1998 NCAA Tournament and tell me he can’t coach. We can dismiss Smith’s accomplishments (more wins in a first year at a school and 3rd coach to win a NCAA title in his first year at a school), by chalking it up to “Pitino’s Players.” Pitino himself and the players on that team have said repeatedly that Pitino might not have been able to win with that squad. It was a perfect team for Tubby to coach. And coach them he did. No matter how his tenure in Lexington ended or how his time there will be remembered, there’s no denying that Coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith and the 1997-98 Wildcats did what few thought they could. Not only did they win a title, but they showed us what it means for Wildcats to fight “till the Battle is won.”