Hubert White

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 11, 1978, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 15 Florida State, 85-76, in the second round of the 1978 NCAA Tournament.  The overwhelming favorite to win the 1978 national title, Kentucky was trailing Florida State 39-32 at halftime in its NCAA tourney opener before 12,700 fans in Tennessee’s Stokely Center.  To start the second half, Joe B. Hall benched starters Jack Givens, Rick Robey and Truman Claytor in favor of reserves Freddie Cowan, LaVon Williams and Dwane Casey. The three backups set a different tone with all-out hustle, then the chastened UK starters returned to win the game.