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Bluff Park Bengal
(66.23.212.206) on 3/2/2004 - 9:07 a.m. says: ( 2 views
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"29 years ago this week,Auburn rained on UAT's "
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parade.
Driving back home Sunday night from LSU's loss to Kentucky, I hit the a.m scan somewhere near BFE,Miss on I-59 and got WHAS 840 a.m. out of Louisville.They were having "UK Basketball Classics" sort of a radio 'ESPN Classic'. The 1975 Alabama at Kentucky game with Cawood Ledford and Ralph Hacker. For a hoops junkie like me it was awesome ,especially since the various ESPN/Fox radio shows had their D list hosts talking on and on about steroids in baseball.
Both of them were in the top ten and they kept talking about wanting to hear the Auburn-Ole Miss final,since Auburn was in first place along with Alabama and there'd be a three-way tie if UK won.Bob Davis had a heckuva team that year and had beaten Kentucky in Auburn earlier that year.
Well,Kentucky went on to win this game and wound up tying Alabama for first that 1974-1975 season.Auburn and Tennessee finished tied for third.How Auburn messed up Alabama is like this:
The last day of the regular season--this was four seasons before the SEC tournament renewal--Alabama was 15-2 (both losses to UK) and Kentucky was 14-3 in the SEC.With this being the first year the NCAA had expanded to allow conferences to have an additional team from their conference in the tourney,both teams were at least assured of a berth in the tourney. Alabama had tied Vanderbilt 15-3 the year before,but the Commodores swept Alabama and the Tide stayed home while Vandy played in the Mideast Regional---in Tuscaloosa.
More teams meant more NCAA tournament games,so a first round was added with winners advancing to the regionals. One of those sites was Tuscaloosa,and the SEC Champion would be sent there.If Alabama defeated Auburn,they'd win the SEC outright and go to the NCAA tournament for the first time and also get to play at home in doing so.This was 13 years before the NCAA said no more getting to play NCAA games on your home court.
With under 4:00 left,Alabama led 75-63. Auburn got off the mat and scored the last 13 points as Auburn eked out a 76-75 win.Alabama now needed Kentucky to lose that night in Starkville at Mississippi State's dedication game of Humphrey Coliseum.
Uh-uh. Kentucky won 118-80 and won a share of the SEC 15-3 with Alabama,but in sweeping the Tide,Kentucky was the designated SEC representative and was assigned to play in the Mideast Regional first round in Tuscaloosa with the regional in Dayton.
Alabama was shipped out West to Tempe and promptly lost to Arizona State.Kentucky went on to play John Wooden's last UCLA team in the National Title game.
Who know's what might have happened with that Alabama team had Auburn not sucked it up down the stretch ?
For any Auburn hoop historians,here's a link to the boxscore from Auburn's win over UK that season.http://www.ukfans.net/jps/uk/Statistics/Games/19750111Auburn.html
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