"That was the greatest exhibition of playing basketball I have
ever seen
in the SEC," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said. "They could
have
played anybody today and it would have been a 10-, 15-point win.
It
didn't matter who. It could have been Duke, Kansas or North Carolina."
Kentucky advanced to play in the title game against the winner
of the
other semifinal, No. 10 Mississippi vs. No. 15 South Carolina.
The
Wildcats are seeking their sixth championship in seven years and
21st
overall.
"We got on a roll and felt like we could do no wrong," Kentucky's
Scott
Padgett said. "It was like everything that happened turned into
a
positive for us."
After enduring three Kentucky dunks in the first five minutes,
Arkansas
pulled back closer to the basket, but that only freed up things
around
the 3-point line. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith instructed his players
to
spread the court in the halfcourt offense, make the extra pass
and keep
Arkansas on the run. By halftime, they had run the Razorbacks
ragged.
"They shot the ball so well, so early, it was demoralizing," said
Pat
Bradley, who had 16 points to pace the Razorbacks.
The Wildcats connected on 22-of-35 from the field in the first
half.
They dominated the boards, 26-11, dished out 16 assists, came
up with
five blocks and made all seven attempts at the foul line. Arkansas,
on
the other hand, hit only 10-of-35 shots (29 percent), including
2-of-10
outside the arc.
The Razorbacks missed forward Derek Hood, who suffered a sprained
ankle
in the quarterfinal victory over Tennessee, but Kentucky played
without
swingman Allen Edwards, who was attending his mother's funeral.
In
addition, Sheppard sprained his left ankle in the second half
and is
doubtful for the championship game. Edwards, whose mother died
Feb. 26
from breast cancer, will return for the championship game.
"We wanted to make sure he could come back to Atlanta and play
another
game"' Padgett said. "We did this for Allen."
(7) Kentucky 99, (16) Arkansas 74
ARKANSAS (74)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
P.Bradley 5-14 4-5 16
Adebayo 5-9 4-5 14
N.Davis 1-6 0-4 2
Reid 1-4 3-4 6
Wallace 1-8 2-2 4
Thompson 1-8 0-0 2
Jennings 3-5 1-2 7
Walker 2-6 5-6 9
Whitney 0-2 2-2 2
B.Davis 5-8 0-0 12
---------------------------------
Totals 24-70 21-30 74
KENTUCKY (99)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
Turner 2-4 0-1 6
Mohammed 5-7 2-2 12
Evans 4-7 3-4 11
Sheppard 6-10 2-2 17
Padgett 6-12 1-2 14
Mills 4-6 0-0 12
M.Bradley 1-1 2-2 4
Magloire 2-9 5-5 9
Smith 1-2 4-4 7
Anthony 1-4 0-0 2
Hogan 1-2 0-0 2
Masiello 1-1 0-0 3
---------------------------------
Totals 34-65 19-22 99
Halftime-Kentucky 58, Arkansas 33. 3-Point goals-Arkansas 5-22
(P.Bradley 2-5, B.Davis 2-5, Reid 1-2, Thompson 0-1, Walker 0-1,
Whitney 0-2, Wallace 0-6). Kentucky 12-22 (Mills 4-5, Sheppard
3-6, Turner 2-3, Padgett 1-3, Smith 1-1, Masiello 1-1, Evans 0-1,
Anthony 0-1, Hogan 0-1). Fouled out-N.Davis. Rebounds-Arkansas 30
(Thompson 7), Kentucky 51 (Mohammed 10). Assists-Arkansas 11
(Reid 3), Kentucky 24 (Turner 7). Total fouls-Arkansas 21,
Kentucky 23. Technical-Turner. A-N/A.