Kentucky fans tried to help the Cats rally against South Carolina but it didn't work. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky basketball might be down but that does not mean teams still do not enjoy beating the Wildcats.
South Carolina beat UK 71-68 Tuesday for only its third win in 29 games in Rupp Arena.
Hayden Brown had 11 points, five rebounds and one assist and cherished a win at Kentucky.
“I was thinking about that (winning at Kentucky) today on multiple occasions. It means a lot,” Brown said after the game. “I kind of just spent some time reflecting on my own career, even just today.
“I’m counting down the days really, until this whole thing’s over. I’ve been doing it for the last six years. So, each and every opportunity is an opportunity to do what I feel like I’ve been doing, you know, successfully for the past five years. And to do it on the biggest stage, Rupp Arena, historic place.”
He said he loved the smiles he saw in the South Carolina locker room coming off a 43-point home loss to Tennessee where the Gamecocks had only 12 field goals.
“We were coming off a loss that obviously wasn’t pretty. But we had the internal character to look each other in the eyes and be like, ‘Okay, yeah. Now this is not going to define us. We have an opportunity here,’” Brown said.
“For me personally, yes (the win meant a lot). But I think for us collectively, as a group, man, it means the absolute world.”
First-year South Carolina coach Lamont Paris knew making 11 of 20 3-point shots was not normal for his team, but he was glad the Gamecocks did.
“We ran some good offense and made some shots. A couple from way out on the moon even, but they came back which we knew they would, the crowd got into it,” he said. “I couldn’t call plays anymore. It was deafening, but credit to their guys for competing the way that they did and playing really hard and credit to our guys for doing the same.
“It’s fun. To have a front row seat for all that stuff, I thought this was a great college basketball game with just two teams that inside felt like they really had to have the win. And it looked like that as we played.”
Again, no team is going to feel sorry for UK’s woes and any win over UK is going to be celebrated by opponents even this season.
One Response
You better believe it! Paris will be the next governor of South Carolina and will be proclaimed the Grand PooPah until then. The worst thing that happened was showing everyone that Kentucky is beatable by any team…anywhere, including Rupp Arena. And the feeding frenzy begins.