Best of UK in the NCAA: Sunday Second Round Highlights

MrsTylerKSR

kentucky-ncaa-tournament-highlights-sunday-second-round-games — ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 23: Julius Randle #30 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates after defeating the Wichita State Shockers 78 to 76 during the third round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 23, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

For Kentucky, Second Round Sundays have included a lot of heartbreak, but also some of our favorite NCAA Tournament moments. Let’s relive them all from the past 30 years.

1992: No. 2 Kentucky 106, No. 10 Iowa State 98

Sunday, March 22, 1992

Jamal Mashburn had 27 points and 9 rebounds, John Pelphrey 20 points, and Sean Woods 18 points in this high-scoring affair at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

1993: No. 1 Kentucky 83, No. 8 Utah 62

Sunday, March 21, 1993

Kentucky led by 19 at half and cruised to the 83-62 win over Rick Majerus’ Utes in Nashville. Jamal Mashburn scored a team-high 19 points.

1994: No. 6 Marquette 75, No. 3 Kentucky 62

Sunday, March 20, 1994

Marquette took control of the game early, shutting down Kentucky’s press thanks to some advice from Arizona coach Lute Olson, according to Dr. J’s UK Newsletter recap. Tony Delk was the only Wildcat to score in double figures with 24 points.

No need to relive that one.

1998: No. 2 Kentucky 88, No. 10 Saint Louis 61

Sunday, March 15, 1998

Kentucky jumped out to a 10-0 lead and didn’t look back, to the point that Tubby Smith rested his starters almost the entire second half.

“We had excellent execution at both ends of the floor,” Smith said. “Today’s first half may have been the best half of basketball we’ve played all season.”

No footage I can find, so here’s a picture of Nazr Mohammed:

15 Mar 1998: Guard Larry Hughes of the Saint Louis Billikens in action against center Nazr Mohammed of the Kentucky Wildcats during a game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Kentucky defeated Saint Louis

1999: No. 3 Kentucky 92, No. 6 Kansas 88 OT

Sunday, March 14, 1999

Believe it or not, this was the first time Kentucky and Kansas had ever met in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were down by five with a minute and a half left, but Wayne Turner hit a pair of clutch free throws and Scott Padgett a three to send the game to overtime. Padgett scored seven of Kentucky’s 13 points in overtime, finishing with 29 points and 10 rebounds.

2003: No. 1 Kentucky 74, No. 9 Utah 54

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Kentucky never trailed in this game and led by 14 at half. Keith Bogans and Marquis Estill scored 18 each. When Utah cut the lead to nine with 11 minutes left, Tubby Smith called a timeout and lit into his squad. They responded with an 11-4 run to put the game out of reach.

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No clips, so let Rick Majerus’ sweater open the floodgates of nostalgia.

NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 23: Head coach Rick Majerus of Utah looks on from the sideline during second round game of the NCAA Tournament against Kentucky on March 23, 2003 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Kentucky defeated Utah 74-54 . (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

2004: No. 9 UAB 76, No. 1 Kentucky 75

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Mo Finley’s 17-footer put the Blazers up by one with 12.2 seconds left. Gerald Fitch missed a three with 2.2 seconds left and Chuck Hayes missed the putback to shut the book on one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Lots of clips of this game online, but I won’t torture you.

2006: No. 1 UConn 87, No. 8 Kentucky 83

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Kentucky rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to pull within two in the final minute, but couldn’t make enough big plays down the stretch to beat the Huskies. In his final game as a Wildcat, Patrick Sparks scored a career-high 28 points.

2007: No. 1 Kansas 88, No. 8 Kentucky 76

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Kansas went on a 13-2 run at the start of the second half, led by Brandon Rush, who hit three of his six threes in the first five minutes. Kentucky couldn’t recover. This was Tubby Smith’s final game at Kentucky.

2014: No. 8 Kentucky 78, No. 1 Wichita State 76

Sunday, March 23, 2014

How could anyone forget this one? Wichita State was undefeated but Kentucky had a great story of their own to share. The Cats responded to every run the Shockers made, and in the final minutes, a team full of freshmen played with the poise of seniors. Nursing a sore elbow, Andrew Harrison finished with 20 points off 6-9 from the floor, 7-9 from the free-throw line. After scoring only two points in the first half, Julius Randle came alive in the second, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Relive the classic in highlight or full game form:

2017: No. 2 Kentucky 65, No. 10 Wichita State 62

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Three years after the instant classic in St. Louis, the Cats and Shockers met again in Indianapolis. Wichita State slowed Kentucky down in the first half, but the Cats found a way to win thanks to gutsy plays by De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, and Bam Adebayo. Monk blocked Markis McDuffie’s three with 13 seconds left and Adebayo swatted Landry Shamet’s three at the buzzer to seal the win. Gregg Marshall’s wife was not pleased.