This is a new team and a new regime and therefore this has no bearing on anything that is happening now but I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the most recent time UK was faced with an adverse situation similar to where they are today. We don’t have to travel too far to go back to a similar situation. Just a few shorts years ago the Wildcats were ranked high and suffered a massive blow after a strong start. In order to go back in time and take a look I have solicited the help of a few friends. You might know them so let’s go say hello.
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Let’s hop into the WABAC machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman and go back to the 2003-2004 season when the then ranked #4 Kentucky Wildcats played in state rival Louisville on 12-23-2003. During this season the Wildcats had started 7-0. Louisville traveled to Rupp Arena to face the Wildcats who were led by Hayes and Azubuike. At the mid way point in this game the Wildcats led Louisville 31-26. The Cardinals rallied in the second half and outscore Kentucky 39-25 and handed Kentucky their first loss of the season. Now, 7-0 isn’t really comparable to 19-0 but this was a crushing loss for the players and the fans being handed to them by the Cardinals after reaching a national ranking of #4.
What we’re really interested in are the games that followed this loss which included Austin Peay, Vanderbilt and two top 25 teams. The Wildcats won these next four games with determination and tenacity. Three of the four games were won by 8 points or less which included a 1 point victory over 9th ranked Mississippi State. During this span they also faced 20 ranked North Carolina and that ended with a score of 61-56, Austin Peay that ended with a score of 61-53 and finally Vanderbilt with a final score of 75-63. Six seasons ago the Wildcats we able to overcome a difficult loss and now it’s time to do it again. In the words of the famous Doc Brown, let’s go…
In the next four outings for the Wildcats they will face two top 25 ranked teams. The difference this time is the Cats are now in conference play and one of the two ranked teams includes Vanderbilt. Often times we hope that history doesn’t repeat. That’s not the case in this situation; at least not for the next 4 games. The difference is we hope that it will continue on well beyond 4 games and last through April 2010. A lot of us would like to be in the shoes of Marty McFly and be able to travel ahead to see what the future holds. Sadly, we’ll have to all wait and watch together on this journey. One day and one game at a time…
