Kentucky brought the Roar back to Rupp Arena vs. Tennessee

For the first time in a long time, Rupp Arena sounded like Rupp Arena. The Big Blue Nation brought energy and intensity before tip-off until the final horn sounded. John Calipari’s team fed off that energy, creating a raucous atmosphere that completely suffocated Tennessee in a dominant 107-79 victory.

TyTy Washington could sense something was different during warm-ups. The crowd arrived earlier than usual. When they emerged from the tunnel for the final time prior to tip-off, Rupp was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.

“The crowd, they came in with a lot of intensity and I felt like we matched their intensity,” said the true freshman from Arizona. “The majority of the game they were standing up, screaming. We felt how electrifying it was, not only to myself, but to everybody on the team. It just gives us a real confidence boost knowing we’ve got a fanbase behind us that believes us.”

Kentucky fed off the energy from 20,278 crazy Cats fans right away. The Wildcats scored at the rim on three straight possessions, then Kellan Grady got hot. His back-to-back threes lit Rupp Arena on fire.

“That was probably the best experience I’ve ever had. That is up there with Madison Square Garden,” said Sahvir Wheeler. “When we made that initial run at the beginning of the game, my ears were like popping. Yo, this is loud. These fans that we have, they’re loyal, they’re supportive and they definitely help us in every single way. For them to show up like this and show out, it kind of got our juices flowing. We made shots to help them and keep that intensity going, keep it loud and keep Rupp rocking.”

The early crowd pop set the tone and the BBN never relented. Both the fans and team were starving for this moment after a year of half-empty arenas in a losing season.

“Last year was a throw-away year. You can be mad when you think about what it was,” Calipari said. “I feel so bad for the kids, that they could not experience what Kentucky basketball was about. We still coached them and finished 8-8 in the league, we were what we wanted to be, but we never got any advantage here. None. It was playing like we were playing pickup. I watched some west coast games, and they brought back some bad memories when I saw no one in the stands.

“This is who we are. This is how we coach. This is us.”

The greatest tradition in college basketball pressed pause for a year. The Wildcats are no longer dormant. Kentucky brought the roar back to Rupp Arena with an unforgettable 28-point win over Tennessee.