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LOOK: John Calipari in Nashville to cheer on Kentucky WBB in SEC Tournament

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•03/06/22•

BarkleyTruax

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(Photo: Wesley Hitt / Stringer via Getty Images)

It’s been an improbable for Kentucky women’s basketball in the SEC Tournament, and it’s brought all the stars down to Nashville as the Wildcats take on the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in the conference championship game. Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari and his wife certainly weren’t going to miss this one.

Calipari was in Gainesville, Florida 24 hours ago, coaching his Wildcats to a 71-63 victory over Florida in their regular season finale. Before his team hops on a plane to Tampa for their own SEC Tournament slate, he made the pitstop in Nashville amid a four-day break before Kentucky has to be back on the court for their quarterfinal matchup.

Kentucky women’s basketball on the other hand, is a seven-seed in the conference tournament, but have taken down the No. 2-seeded LSU Tigers and No. 3-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in consecutive days leading up to Sunday’s championship game.

UK is making its sixth appearance in the SEC Championship game and the first since 2014. The Wildcats are 1-4 all-time in the final with their lone win being UK’s 1982 SEC Championship. The Wildcats are 2-2 all-time in the event against South Carolina with this being the first time the two teams have met for the championship trophy.

Senior guard and projected top three 2022 WNBA Draft pick Rhyne Howard has led Kentucky in the tournament, averaging 23.3 points per game, cashing in 52 percent of her shots from the field and 56 percent from 3 with 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Jada Walker is averaging 13.7 points, while senior guard Robyn Benton and redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards are each averaging 13.0 points.

Currently projected as a nine-seed in the NCAA Tournament next week, the Wildcats look to put their stamp on one of the most improbable SEC Tournament runs in program history, and it is currently airing live on ESPN.