Connect with us

Kentucky Basketball

Everybody get up, it’s time to slam now

Bringing energy to each game and maintaining it throughout is a large area of focus for Kentucky. That idea has been a theme throughout this season.

Karl Towns - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Karl Towns – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Bringing energy to each game and maintaining it throughout is a large area of focus for No. 1 (28-0, 15-0 Southeastern Conference). That idea has been a theme throughout this season.

“ … We're really, really good when we have a lot – when we play with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm, and when we make the simple plays,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after the Cats' big win over Mississippi State in Starkville.

One of the sure-fire ways to get the Cats going is by dunking. Now, whether it's a two-handed windmill, a one-handed catch and slam, or a jam right over the opposing team, that's up to the player.

“When stuff like that happens everybody just gets pumped,” said freshman forward Trey Lyles, who had a pair of dunks against Mississippi State to go along with his career-high 18 points. “You know, after that we just push it to another level. Everybody starts clicking offensively and defensively and they're definitely plays that carry on throughout the game for us.”

Lyles was talking about Towns' drive straight down the paint followed by a one-handed slam that was a game changer against the Bulldogs. That dunk pushed the Cats ahead 11 points, and they'd continue to push the lead to as many as 24.

Read full article here.

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.

 

More in Kentucky Basketball