Kentucky Basketball: A Look Back at the Crazy 1978 Comeback vs Kansas

Kentucky basketball and Kansas basketball are two blue-blood programs who have a history, and 1978 saw one of the wildest comebacks in series history.

As Wildcat fans look forward to the much-anticipated UK versus KU game coming up this Saturday January 28th, now would be a good time to take a trip back in time.

Let’s look at an old Wildcats-Jayhawks match up that featured an unbelievable Big Blue comeback. In fact, most Kentucky fans of a certain age will tell you the ending of this game is still the wildest finish in Rupp Arena history.

The Background

Fifth-ranked Kansas came to Lexington to face tenth-ranked Kentucky on December 9, 1978. The Wildcats were the defending national champions. Although they lost several key members of that title squad, including three starters, UK didn’t enter this contest empty-handed.

Kyle Macy and Truman Claytor returned as the starting backcourt. Coming back with them were veterans Jay Shidler, Fred Cowan, Lavon Williams and Tim Stephens. Added to the mix were freshmen Clarence Tillman, Chuck Verderber and most significantly, Dwight “The Blur” Anderson.

The 6’3″ Anderson was one of the most highly-touted frosh in the nation and one of the most athletic players in the history of the program. Kansas was led by their own star guard, Darnell Valentine, backcourt mate Tony Guy and big man Paul Mokeski.

The first 44:29

Although close throughout, no one would have thought this game would go down in Wildcat lore as the teams were tied at 56 at the end of regulation.

And when Valentine hit two free throws to put the Jayhawks up 66-60 with 31 seconds left in overtime, most Kentucky fans probably thought this would be a game they would want to quickly forget.

The Comeback

But then things started getting crazy. Here is how a comeback for the ages went down:

:16 – Anderson makes a layup against a Kansas defense more interested in avoiding a foul than stopping a basket. 66-62 Kansas

:16 – On the ensuing inbounds play, Valentine is called for a foul, pushing off against Anderson before any time runs off the clock. Anderson missed the front end of the one and one, but Tillman and Williams kept the ball alive long enough for Anderson to pick it up in the lane and draw a foul from Mokeski as he went for a shot.

:10 – The freshman star hit both foul shots this time. 66-64 Kansas

:10 – Anderson makes a steal on the inbounds pass (starting to understand why UK fans were excited about this kid?). As the ball is about to go out of bounds, Anderson lunges and saves it back across the court to a wide-open Macy. The junior calmly sinks a 15-footer to tie the game at 66-66. The crowd, as they say, goes wild.

:03 – Just when a Kansas fan thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. As the Rupp Arena faithful erupted, the Jayhawks’ Mac Stallcup pulled a Chris Weber fifteen years before Chris Weber did in the 1993 national championship game. He called a timeout when his team didn’t have any left. Technical foul on the visitors. Macy stepped to the line for foul shot (you only got one back then for a T) and even though it drew a lot of iron, the ball went through the net. 67-66 Kentucky.

Victory!

The obviously rattled Jayhawks turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and it was over. Kentucky had come back from a six point deficit with 31 seconds left to win. Years before the three-point shot came to the college game.

Without the need of an extra period.

And a star was born. Dwight Anderson made his presence known to Wildcat fans and the college basketball world. Although his star didn’t shine for long in the Bluegrass, The Blur gave the Wildcats an entertaining freshman season.

Kentucky fans can only hope the game coming up this Saturday at Rupp Arena versus Kansas is just as entertaining, with just as good a result.

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