Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein got a whole lot of grief from his teammates for a comment he made ahead of his team's game against Kansas State, when he brazenly said the No. 8 seed Wildcats intended to “shock the world” in the NCAA tournament.
Well, they'll at least have a chance to play the Shockers.
Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points and Kentucky held on to beat Kansas State 56-49 on Friday night. The reward is a coveted date with unbeaten Wichita State, the Midwest Region's top seed.
After the game, Cauley-Stein was asked about his comment the previous day, and he began stuttering through a response before Kentucky coach John Calipari butted in. “Willie got killed for his `shock the world' statement,”‘ Calipari deadpanned. “Just win one game. Shock me.”
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 18, 1966, Louie Dampier joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 53 games.
- On March 18, 1966, Kentucky, the No. 1 team in the nation, faced off against No. 2 Duke in the 1966 NCAA Final Four. Louie Dampier (23 points) and Pat Riley (19) led the top-ranked Cats past No. 2 Duke in front of 14,253 at the Cole Field House in College Park, Md.
- On March 18, 1972, Adolph Rupp coaches his last game at UK, a 73-54 loss to Florida State for the Mideast Region title in the NCAA Tournament.
- On March 18, 1978, in the 1978 NCAA Tournament round of eight, sophomore point guard Kyle Macy scored nine points in the final 6:16 to rally the Wildcats past Michigan State and freshman star Earvin “Magic” Johnson before 13,485 at the University of Dayton Arena.