Black Friday: Cats fall to LSU in SEC quarterfinals

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TAMPA, Fla.— For the first time in 17 years, the UK men’s basketball program is not expected to be a participant in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cats all but waved their Tournament lives goodbye as they fell 67-58 to No. 20 Louisiana State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday.

Now, their postseason fate waits in the hands of the NCAA Selection Committee, when they release the brackets on Sunday. The Cats, however, will seemingly wait for a call from the National Invitational Tournament, to see if they’ll be hosting a first round game.

“I know everyone is going to say it’s the first time in 17 years that Kentucky isn’t in the NCAA Tournament,” junior Ramon Harris said. “But, you can’t downgrade this Kentucky team. Everyone played with all their heart the whole season, and that’s all you can ask for.”

It’ll be likely UK (20-13, 8-8 SEC) fans will be asking for more—mainly a cut down on turnovers and better defensive rebounding. And it was something a new look couldn’t help either.

For only the second time in their history the Cats wore black uniforms—maybe this time as a sign of desperation. But, the color of the jersey didn’t help one bit as they committed 15 turnovers and gave up 17 offensive rebounds.

“Turnovers don’t do anything but hurt your team,” junior Perry Stevenson said. “And again, that’s what they did today to us.”

The lackluster record, a likely NIT berth and another season of ugly losses should give Big Blue Nation a wide collection of things to talk about—or complain about—until the next season. Sophomore Patrick Patterson said while they know all the talk is out there—especially about head coach Billy Gillispie—the Cats, nor Gillispie bother to listen.

“I got married one time, and that honeymoon didn’t last long either,” Gillispie said in a post-game news conference. “For me as a basketball coach, I couldn’t care less about a honeymoon. You know, we lost our second game when I was head coach at Kentucky last year. That shouldn’t happen. I’ve always taken responsibility, always will. I’m not concerned about honeymoons.”

While Gillispie has taken responsibility for the loss to Gardner-Webb last season, Harris said it was the team that had to take the responsibility for all of this year’s gaffes.

Harris said it wasn’t Gillispie on the court making the turnovers or missing shots.

“We put ourselves in this situation,” Harris said. “That’s what happens when you play the way we did in conference play. It’s our fault.”

The Cats now likely have to face the facts for being the first UK team since 1991 to miss the NCAA Tournament. However, the Cats are looking forward to wherever they land.

“If we get invited to the NIT, I’ll be grateful to play in it,” freshman Darius Miller said. “Not many people get to play postseason basketball in Division I, and I will be more than happy to play in anything.”