The NCAA News - News and Features

April 6, 1998

Wildcats claw back from half-time deficit for title

Kentucky had the Utah Utes right where it wanted them at half time in the Division I Men's Basketball Championship final.

Down by 10 points, Kentucky was in the Wildcat-bird seat, rallying from a sizeable deficit for the third straight game to a 78-69 victory over the Utes March 30 in San Antonio.

Kentucky trailed, 41-31, at the break, but -- just like in victories over Duke in the South regional final and Stanford in the national semifinals -- the Wildcats clawed back to win. Coach Tubby Smith's squad converted stamina, cat-quick defense and a 58-percent second-half shooting percentage from the floor into the school's seventh championship and second in three years.

"It was a great college game," said Smith, a first-year coach at Kentucky who joined three other coaches in the semifinals as first-time Final Four participants.

"To come back the way we did took an unbelievable effort from these gentlemen and I couldn't ask for any more from these kids."

The Wildcats, who ended the season 35-4, overcame a first half in which they shot 45 percent from the field and 0-6 from three-point range. Kentucky was peppered inside by Michael Doleac, the Utes' spacious center who scored 12 points, mostly from point-blank range.

Then Doleac moved outside for a three-pointer with just over five minutes in the half, and Andre Miller and Alex Jensen scored on layups to give the Utes a 10-point lead.

Miller's base-line jumper gave Utah its largest bulge of the game, 43-31, moments into the second half, then Kentucky gained a second wind from substitutes Heshimu Evans and Cameron Mills. Each hit two pivotal threes to help Kentucky negate the largest half-time deficit in the history of the title game.

Jeff Sheppard, who scored 16 points for the Wildcats, gave them their first second-half lead with a dunk at the 7:12 mark, but the Utes posted six straight points to regain a four-point edge. Mills' second three-pointer cut the deficit to one before a Sheppard jumper gave the Wildcats the lead for good just under the five-minute mark.

'Awesome year'

"We have had an awesome year," said Sheppard, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player. "Some things have happened to this team that we couldn't do anything about. And there is something about going through those times that makes you pull together as a team."

Sheppard and the rest of the Wildcats shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half and connected on five of 11 threes. Defensively, Kentucky held Utah to just under 30 percent and only 2-for-8 three-point shooting in the second frame.

"I thought Kentucky made some difficult shots, and I applaud them," said Utah coach Rick Majerus, whose squad had been a Kentucky victim in three previous tournaments in the 1990s. "I thought we played with great heart, and I can't say enough about Mike (Doleac) and Drew (Hansen). I think they epitomize what the NCAA and the collegiate experience should be about."

Utah (30-4) posted a 39-24 rebounding advantage, the largest ever by a losing team in a championship game. Doleac's 10 rebounds led both teams.

Kentucky's Scott Padgett led all scorers with 17 points. Besides Sheppard, Nazr Mohammed and Jamaal Magloire also scored in double figures for the Wildcats.

Andre Miller led Utah with 16 points but committed eight turnovers. Hanno Mottola and Doleac each scored 15 and Jensen contributed 14 for the Utes.

Semifinal scares

Both teams had to survive scares in the semifinals. The Utes ran past North Carolina (34-4) on the strength of a 17-4 run to start the game. Utah knocked in four of its first five shots, including three three-pointers, to stun the higher-seeded Tar Heels.

North Carolina did not recover until late in the game, closing to within 57-55 after Utah went more than six minutes without a field goal. But Miller scored off a fast break and Hansen made two free throws to build the lead back to six, 61-55, with under a minute to play.

"We knew coming in we could play with these guys," Doleac said. "But we had to execute our game plan and come out of the blocks. That was a big help."

Utah shackled North Carolina's guards, particularly Shammond Williams, who was harassed into shooting 2-for-12 from the field. North Carolina connected on just three of 23 three-point shots, but was able to stay in the game on the strength of 15 offensive rebounds, four by Antawn Jamison.

"I thought our guys played really well, but in spite of that, North Carolina has 15 offensive boards," Majerus said. "You've got to credit them with a great effort."

Kentucky clawed its way past Stanford, 86-85 in overtime, after staging another second-half rally to force the extra period.

Stanford scored the game's first eight points and stretched the margin to 10 at 15-5 with just over five minutes gone. Kentucky was unable to gain the lead until Padgett converted two free throws for a 54-53 edge with 10 minutes to play.

The game see-sawed until Kentucky built a seemingly comfortable four-point margin with a minute to go, but Madsen's put-back and a three-pointer by Arthur Lee tied the game at 73. Both teams missed last-second stabs at victory in regulation.

Kentucky controlled the overtime early, but Stanford closed to within 83-82 on a three-pointer by Ryan Mendez, his only score of the game. Kentucky again rebuilt a four-point margin, but Pete Sauer's three tightened the gap again with nine seconds left. Kentucky's Wayne Turner missed two free throws with two seconds left, but Sauer's heave at the buzzer was wide.

"It's a Final Four -- why not an overtime game?" said Sheppard, whose 27 points were a career high. "You're tired, but we've been tired before every day in practice -- and we know how important the last 30 minutes of practice is -- and that was reflected in the last five minutes of the game when we were able to suck it up and get some stops."

In addition to Sheppard, the all-tournament team consisted of Padgett, Utah's Miller and Doleac, and Arthur Lee of Stanford.

SEMIFINALS

Kentucky 86, Stanford 85 (ot)

Stanford: Peter Sauer 3-4, 0-0, 7, 8; Mark Madsen 5-6, 1-1, 16, 11; Tim Young 5-11, 0-0, 7, 10; Kris Weems 6-23, 2-3, 1, 17; Arthur Lee 6-12, 9-9, 3, 26; David Moseley 0-3, 2-2, 1, 2; Ryan Mendez 1-4, 0-0, 1, 3; Jarron Collins 1-3, 5-7, 5, 7; Michael McDonald 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Pet Van Elswyk 0-1, 1-2, 0, 1; Mark Seaton 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 27-68, 20-24, 45 (1 team), 85.

Kentucky: Allen Edwards 4-10, 2-3, 3, 11; Scott Padgett 2-8, 6-6, 6, 10; Nazr Mohammed 7-14, 4-6, 5-18; Wayne Turner 2-8, 4-9, 2, 8; Jeff Sheppard 9-15, 5-7, 6, 27; Heshimu Evans 2-7, 0-0, 6, 4; Jamaal Magloire 2-3, 2-2, 4, 6; Saul Smith 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Cameron Mills 1-1, 0-0, 2, 2; Michael Bradley 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 29-67, 23-33, 40 (4 team), 86.

Half time: Stanford 37, Kentucky 32. Three-point field goals; Stanford 11-28 (Lee 5-8, Weems 3-11, Sauer 2-3, Mendez 1-4, Moseley 0-2); Kentucky 5-15 (Sheppard 4-8, Edwards 1-2, Padgett 0-3, Evans 0-2). Disqualifications: Young. Officials: Tim Higgins, Bob Donato, Larry Rose. Attendance: 40,509.

Utah 65, North Caro. 59

Utah: Hanno Mottola 2-9, 4-6, 1, 9; Alex Jensen 3-4, 0-0, 5, 7; Michael Doleac 6-11, 4-7, 5, 16; Andre Miller 7-15, 2-7, 14, 16; Drew Hansen 1-1, 2-2, 6, 5; David Jackson 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Jordie McTavish 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3; Britton Johnsen 3-7, 0-0, 2, 7; Trace Caton 1-3, 0-0, 1, 2. TOTALS: 24-54, 12-22, 39 (5 team), 65.

North Caro.: Ademola Okulaja 3-8, 0-0, 9, 7; Antawn Jamison 7-19, 0-2, 12, 14; Makhtar Ndiaye 0-3, 0-2, 2, 0; Ed Cota 4-9, 0-0, 7, 8; Vince Carter 10-16, 0-1, 5, 21; Shammond Williams 2-12, 2-2, 2, 7; Brendan Haywood 1-2, 0-0, 3, 2. TOTALS: 27-69, 2-7, 42 (2 team), 59.

Half time: Utah 35, North Caro. 22. Three-point field goals: Utah 5-17 (Mottola 1-4, Johnsen 1-2, McTavish 1-2, Hansen 1-1, Jensen 1-1, Miller 0-3, Caton 0-2, Doleac 0-1, Jackson 0-1); North Caro. 3-23 (Williams 1-9, Okulaja 1-5, Carter 1-4, Cota 0-4, Jamison 0-1). Disqualifications: Ndiaye. Officials: John Clougherty, Andre Pattillo, Don Rutledge. Attendance: 40,509.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Kentucky 78, Utah 69

Utah: Hanno Mottola 4-10, 6-6, 8, 15; Alex Jensen 5-6, 3-3, 2, 14; Michael Doleac 5-12, 4-6, 10, 15; Andre Miller 6-15, 4-7, 6, 16; Drew Hansen 1-6, 0-0, 5, 2; Britton Johnsen 3-4, 0-0, 4, 7; Jordie McTavish 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; David Jackson 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Trace Caton 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 24-55, 17-22, 39 (4 team), 69.

Kentucky: Allen Edwards 2-7, 0-0, 1, 4; Scott Padgett 6-11, 4-4, 5, 17; Nazr Mohammed 5-9, 0-0, 2, 10; Wayne Turner 2-5, 2-4, 2, 6; Jeff Sheppard 7-14, 2-2, 4, 16; Jamaal Magloire 2-3, 3-3, 2, 7; Heshimu Evans 3-4, 2-2, 6, 10; Cameron Mills 2-4, 2-2, 0, 8; Saul Smith 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michael Bradley 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 29-57, 15-17, 24 (1 team), 78.

Half time: Utah 41, Kentucky 31. Three-point field goals: Utah 4-14 (Mottola 1-3, Johnsen 1-2, Jensen 1-1, Doleac 1-1, Miller 0-3, Hansen 0-2, Jackson 0-1, Caton 0-1); Kentucky 5-17 (Mills 2-4, Evans 2-2, Padgett 1-5, Edwards 0-3, Sheppard 0-2, Turner 0-1). Disqualifications: Miller. Officials: Jim Burr, Donnee Gray, Mike Sanzere. Attendance: 40, 509.