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BAD THINGS COME IN 3s?: Apparently, Kentucky’s stunning upset loss to Duke in 1980 wasn’t just a bad night, it was the start of a miserable trifecta most Cat fans would just as soon forget. Kentucky returned to the NCAA tournament in 1981 as the Mideast No. 2 seed but was shocked 69-62 by No. 7 seed Alabama-Birmingham in its first game. Chuck Verderber had 16 points, Dirk Minniefield 14 and Charles Hurt 11 for the eighth-ranked Cats against the unranked Blazers. Things got even worse in 1982 when No. 6 seed Kentucky lost to No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee of the Ohio Valley Conference by a dismal count of 50-44. Not a single Kentucky player scored in double digits as the Cats were whipped by an OVC team featuring Ed “Pancakes” Perry and Wardell “Poundcakes” Perry.
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS: There are those who believe Kentucky’s stunning loss to Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament wasn’t so drastic after all. When the tournament pairings were announced, the committee had railroaded an obvious meeting between bitter rivals Kentucky and Louisville, who had not met in any fashion since 1959 at the insistence of UK. The Cardinals got a bye in the 48-team field and awaited the UK-Middle winner. Plus, CBS had just entered the first year of its $48 million deal to broadcast the tournament. Or maybe MTSU was just better this night. After all, the Blue Raiders qualified for the NCAAs by scoring an upset at Diddle Arena of Western Kentucky for the OVC crown, snapping the Hilltoppers’ 28-game OVC home court win streak. Or maybe not. Louisville routed Middle Tennessee 81-56 a few nights later.
NIGHTMARISH DREAM GAME: At long last, all the critics finally had their way as Kentucky and Louisville would finally meet on the basketball court in the 1983 Mideast Region championship. What had long been a heated debate in the Commonwealth, including threats by the State Legislature to make it law that they play, had grown to capture the attention of the sports nation in the early 1980s.
An obvious attempt to pair the bitter rivals failed in 1982 when Kentucky lost to Middle Tennessee. But here we were just one year later on another, less-obvious collision course. Louisville was the No. 1 seed and Kentucky was the No. 3 seed and had to beat No. 2 Indiana to make the Dream Game a reality. Kentucky did its part to set up the showdown, and it was a battle that lived up to all the hype as the Cardinals won the overtime thriller 80-68 on March 26 at the Stokely Center in Knoxville. If not for the heartbreak of the season ending, UK should be proud of its effort that night. UK was ranked No. 12 in the nation, UofL was No. 2. The game was a true classic as upstart UK raced ahead 23-10. But Louisville charged back with an effort of historical proportions by shooting a school-record 81.5 percent in the second half and overtime on 22-of-27 field goals. The heroics came when Jim Master swished a 12-foot jumper with :01 left to force overtime.
DREAM GAME II?: After the drama of the 1983 Dream Game and the fact that Kentucky and Louisville actually met in the regular season opener the next November, there wasn’t much sizzle remaining when the Cats squared off against Louisville in the 1984 Mideast Region semifinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington. But that didn’t make it any less fun for the Big Blue Nation as Kentucky won 72-67 behind 15 points each from Dicky Beal and Jim Master.
HAPPY DAYS AGAIN: When Kentucky defeated Illinois 54-51 to reach the 1984 NCAA Final Four, a huge burden had been lifted from the Big Blue Nation. All seemed grand when UK won the ’78 title, but that had been followed by miserable losses to the likes of UAB and Middle Tennessee and even Louisville in the so-called Dream Game over the course of a six-year span.....
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BAD THINGS COME IN 3s?: Apparently, Kentucky’s stunning upset loss to Duke in 1980 wasn’t just a bad night, it was the start of a miserable trifecta most Cat fans would just as soon forget. Kentucky returned to the NCAA tournament in 1981 as the Mideast No. 2 seed but was shocked 69-62 by No. 7 seed Alabama-Birmingham in its first game. Chuck Verderber had 16 points, Dirk Minniefield 14 and Charles Hurt 11 for the eighth-ranked Cats against the unranked Blazers. Things got even worse in 1982 when No. 6 seed Kentucky lost to No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee of the Ohio Valley Conference by a dismal count of 50-44. Not a single Kentucky player scored in double digits as the Cats were whipped by an OVC team featuring Ed “Pancakes” Perry and Wardell “Poundcakes” Perry.
CONSPIRACY THEORISTS: There are those who believe Kentucky’s stunning loss to Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament wasn’t so drastic after all. When the tournament pairings were announced, the committee had railroaded an obvious meeting between bitter rivals Kentucky and Louisville, who had not met in any fashion since 1959 at the insistence of UK. The Cardinals got a bye in the 48-team field and awaited the UK-Middle winner. Plus, CBS had just entered the first year of its $48 million deal to broadcast the tournament. Or maybe MTSU was just better this night. After all, the Blue Raiders qualified for the NCAAs by scoring an upset at Diddle Arena of Western Kentucky for the OVC crown, snapping the Hilltoppers’ 28-game OVC home court win streak. Or maybe not. Louisville routed Middle Tennessee 81-56 a few nights later.
NIGHTMARISH DREAM GAME: At long last, all the critics finally had their way as Kentucky and Louisville would finally meet on the basketball court in the 1983 Mideast Region championship. What had long been a heated debate in the Commonwealth, including threats by the State Legislature to make it law that they play, had grown to capture the attention of the sports nation in the early 1980s.
An obvious attempt to pair the bitter rivals failed in 1982 when Kentucky lost to Middle Tennessee. But here we were just one year later on another, less-obvious collision course. Louisville was the No. 1 seed and Kentucky was the No. 3 seed and had to beat No. 2 Indiana to make the Dream Game a reality. Kentucky did its part to set up the showdown, and it was a battle that lived up to all the hype as the Cardinals won the overtime thriller 80-68 on March 26 at the Stokely Center in Knoxville. If not for the heartbreak of the season ending, UK should be proud of its effort that night. UK was ranked No. 12 in the nation, UofL was No. 2. The game was a true classic as upstart UK raced ahead 23-10. But Louisville charged back with an effort of historical proportions by shooting a school-record 81.5 percent in the second half and overtime on 22-of-27 field goals. The heroics came when Jim Master swished a 12-foot jumper with :01 left to force overtime.
DREAM GAME II?: After the drama of the 1983 Dream Game and the fact that Kentucky and Louisville actually met in the regular season opener the next November, there wasn’t much sizzle remaining when the Cats squared off against Louisville in the 1984 Mideast Region semifinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington. But that didn’t make it any less fun for the Big Blue Nation as Kentucky won 72-67 behind 15 points each from Dicky Beal and Jim Master.
HAPPY DAYS AGAIN: When Kentucky defeated Illinois 54-51 to reach the 1984 NCAA Final Four, a huge burden had been lifted from the Big Blue Nation. All seemed grand when UK won the ’78 title, but that had been followed by miserable losses to the likes of UAB and Middle Tennessee and even Louisville in the so-called Dream Game over the course of a six-year span.....
