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Shedding a Light on The ’96, ’97, and ’98 Kentucky Basketball teams

By Frank Spencer

Oct 17, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; A general view of Rupp Arena during the game with the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans. Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; A general view of Rupp Arena during the game with the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans. Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kentucky Basketball
Oct 14, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; A general view of Rupp Arena before the Kentucky Wildcats Midnight Madness. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitino’s 1997 Kentucky Wildcats

In 1997, a Kentucky team, fresh off of their sixth national championship looked to stay on track with a core group of key contributors. With the departure of Tony Delk and Antoine Walker left Rick Pitino looking for someone to lead the offense. Enter Ron Mercer.

The ’97 Wildcats finished the season at 35-5 with a 13-3 SEC regular season record. With regular season losses to Clemson, Ole Miss, and two losses to South Carolina, the Wildcats had lost just four games entering the SEC Tournament. The SEC tournament was a breeze for the Cats as they defeated Auburn, Ole Miss, and Georgia on consecutive days. The closest game of the tournament was the rematch against Ole Miss in which the Cats flew to an 18 point victory over the Rebels.

Senior, Anthony Epps led the team in assists throughout the season. The Lebanon, Kentucky native posted 193 assists on the year which topped the SEC totals in 1996-97. Epps also tallied the second highest point total on the team with 356 points on the year. Other scoring contributors for the Cats were Scott Padgett, Nazr Mohammed, and Jared Prickett.

The NCAA Tournament

The Wildcats earned a one-seed in the West Region of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Its opening game matched Rick Pitino’s squad up with Montana with which Kentucky made light work of winning 92-54. A second round matchup with Iowa proved to be a more daunting task as the Wildcats escaped with a six point victory 75-69. After rattling off two more victories over Saint Joseph’s and Utah, Kentucky found itself in it’s 12th Final Four matchup against Minnesota.

Kentucky defeated Minnesota 78-69 behind a 19 point performance from Ron Mercer. Anthony Epps chipped in with 13 points and seven assists and Lexington, KY native Cameron Mills contributed 10 points in the win. The victory earned the Wildcats their ninth birth in the NCAA Title game against Arizona.

In a matchup of Wildcats, Kentucky and Arizona tipped off on March 31, 1997 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis Indiana. In a strong effort by Arizona’s Miles Simon who scored 30 points in the Championship game, the Arizona Wildcats defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 84-79. Simon and Guard Mike Bibby led the way for Arizona. Simon would go on to win the Most Outstanding Player award after his performance in the title game.

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