Second Round Recap – St. Louis Region
(9) UAB 76, (1) Kentucky 75
The Blazers of Alabama-Birmingham stunned Kentucky in the second round by scalping the top-seeded Wildcats, 76-75. Mo Finely provided the razor-thin victory margin for the Blazers by hitting a long jumper with a little more than 12 seconds remaining in the half. Kentucky’s Gerald Fitch had an open shot with two seconds remaining but missed the three pointer that would have sent the Wildcats into the Sweet 16.
Instead, the Blazers emerge to play No. 4 Kansas in the next round. The team took advantage of a less athletic Wildcat team that seemed more comfortable playing a slower pace. The Blazers, however, turned up the heat as coach Mike Anderson applied the “40 minutes of hell” that he learned as a Razorback under former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson.
Despite the frenetic pace, Anderson kept his team calm even when Kentucky extended its lead to six points with about five minutes remaining. Demario Eddins’ layup with less than two minutes remaining tied the game. The two teams battled back and forth in the closing moments, and Kentucky’s Kelenna Azubuike slammed home an offensive rebound to give the Wildcats a 75-74 lead – their last lead of the 2003-04 season. The stage was set for Finley’s dramatic finish.
Finely led the Blazers with 17 points, and Fitch matched him with 17 of his own to lead Kentucky. Neither team dominated the other in any particular statistical category. If the Blazers can maintain this energy, there’s no reason to believe this team can’t beat Kansas and have a legitimate shot at a Final Four appearance.
