Top Ten Memorable Sweet Sixteen Games in Kentucky Basketball History
By J Bill Sosh
No. 4 – 1993 – Kentucky 103 Wake Forest 69
The 1993 Wildcats were the fourth squad under Coach Rick Pitino. His first few years were spent rebuilding in the aftermath of probation and a post-season ban. Those early teams were affectionately known as “Pitino’s Bombinos”.
They had a penchant of staying in and winning games with a reliance on three-point shots. By the 1993 season, the Cats had diversified a bit, chiefly with the strong all-around play of junior star Jamal Mashburn.
Kentucky Basketball won the 1993 SEC tournament in overwhelming fashion, blitzing their opponents with fast starts. Most notable in that tourney was a 101-40 destruction of Tennessee. The first two rounds of the NCAA were more of the same for the top-seeded Cats, with routs of Rider and Utah in the first two rounds. Then it was on to Charlotte for the Southeast Regional to face fifth-seeded Wake Forest on March 25th.
Mashburn from Deep!
Although Kentucky had become more than just long-range shooting specialists by now, this game featured perhaps the most impressive three-point shooting barrage in UK history. The Cats jumped out to a 20-4 lead. And they didn’t stop there. You are not supposed to lead 60-24 at halftime in a Sweet 16 game. But Kentucky Basketball did just that.
Mashburn had all 23 of his points in the first half and went five for five from beyond the arc. Travis Ford led the Cats with 26 points and went five of six from long range. Overall the Cats went a remarkable 16-24 (67%) from behind the arc in their devastation of the Demon Deacons.
The Cats kept up the trend and jumped all over Florida State early in the regional final. They won that one 106-81 to earn a trip to the Final Four. The dream ended there with an overtime loss to Michigan and the Fab Five.