Cats finish as NCAA runner-up
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The wildcats almost won back to back national titles this year.
This Kentucky wildcats topped off an incredible season by making
it to the national championship game.
Overcoming Losses
To make it to this point, the team had many obstacles to overcome
first.
- They lost four player to the NBA draft
- They Redshirted player Jeff Sheppard
- Well into the season they lost leading scorer Derek Anderson due
to knee injury
- They had only 10 eligible players
- Only 7 of their 10 players were on UK scholarship
- And many more
Despite these huge obstacles, they still came within 6 points
of back to back championships
The Road to the Final Game
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- First Round
- Second Round
- Regional Semifinals
- Kentucky 83, St. Joseph's 68
- Regional Finals
This Kentucky team was to play in the school's 12th Final Four.
The team earned their spot by beating 3rd ranked Minnesota by
a score of 78-69, two days before the final game.
The Final Game
Back to Info After a tiring game against Minnesota 2 days before, the Kentucky
Wildcats took on Arizona. The KY wildcats had a hard time all
during the game. Probably the most affected by fatigue was star
player Ron Mercer. The KY team managed to hold on and tie it up
by the end of regulation. The biggest reason for this was Anthony
Epps 3 3-pointers with only 13 seconds on the clock. This was
only UK's third OT of the season. Foul trouble played a big part
for UK in OT. The cats committed 29 personal fouls by the end
of the game, fouling out Turner, Mercer, Padgett, and Prickett.
UK had a hard time with the quickness of the Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona made UK pay by shooting 34 of 41 at the line for 83 percent.
Their percentage before was only 64 percent. In OT, Arizona scored
10 points from the foul line to win the game.
Kentucky's Final Four Facts
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- The loss to AZ broke UK's 8-game winning streak overall and 16-game
streak on neutral courts.
- UK's 30 3-point attempts was the most in a NCAA title game
- UK's 10 made 3-pointers was 2nd in a championship game, second
to the '96 UK team
- UK's 7 blocked shots tied the championship game record
- UK's 4 player fouling out was a title game record
- Anthony Epps finished with 93 assists over his 18 NCAA Tournament
games
- Scott Padgett's 12 3-point attempts tied for 2nd in a title game
- Nazr Mohammed's 3 blocked shots tied a championship game record
- The Wildcats finished second on the all-time Final Four list for
the following two-game totals:
- 19 threes made
- 53 threes attempted
- 12 blocked shots
- 23 steals.
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Most Final Four Games
UCLA 28
North Carolina 23
Kentucky 21
Duke 20
Kansas 18
Most Final Four Wins
UCLA 24
Kentucky 15
Duke 11
Most Final Four Appearances
UCLA 14
North Carolina 13
Kentucky 12
Duke 11
Kansas 10
Rupp Arena
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