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Criticism brought Kentucky Wildcats together

John Calipari seemed to hint that the criticism brought Kentucky together, and after hitting rock bottom against South Carolina, it appears to be true.

The Harrison Twins - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

The Harrison Twins – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Even if his team was billed as the top team in the country to start the year, and even if there were beliefs that his team could go undefeated, don't tell that his 10-loss group failed to meet expectations.

“It wasn't disappointing,” Coach Cal said.

But he didn't mind people talking about the disappointment when his players were struggling because “that's what they had to hear.”

“They had to hear how bad they were as players, how selfish they were,” he said. “(People said), ‘They're not together. This isn't a team. You can't do this. This is what's wrong.' They had to deal with that.”

Calipari seemed to hint that the criticism brought his team together, and after hitting rock bottom against South Carolina, it appears to be true.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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