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Once upon a campus: a UK love story

Lou and Ree Karibou

Lou and Ree Karibou

In 1956, Elvis Presley released “Love Me Tender,” a ballad that would become a Valentine's Day classic. That same year, Lou and Ella Marie “Ree” Karibo were married. This couple who met and fell in love at the University of have since brought to life the love song of the era: “Love me tender, love me dear; tell me you are mine. I'll be yours through all the years, till the end of time.”

He was a football player and a diver; she was a cheerleader and a dancer. Both from Louisville, though they had never even heard of each other's high schools, the Karibos met at the Student Union Building in 1951. Lou came to UK on a football scholarship offered to him by the legendary UK football coach Paul William “Bear” Bryant, and a year later Ree arrived at UK, the only university she pictured herself attending.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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