UAB 76, KENTUCKY 75: The Wildcats, top-seeded in the tournament, are in shock after two misses at the end against the No. 9 seed.
By Associated Press
Published March 22, 2004
[Getty Images: Doug Pensinger]
Mo Finley gets emotional as he leaves the court. "That shot definitely was a blessing from above," he says of his winning 17-footer with 12.2 seconds left. NCAA brackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Some players stared in disbelief while others blinked back tears in Kentucky's somber locker room.
Outside, the school's band fought its way through a rendition of My Old Kentucky Home as fans in various shades of blue shook their heads and wondered what in the world had gone wrong.
Once again, the Wildcats were going home early from the NCAA Tournament.
Mo Finley made a 17-foot jumper with 12.2 seconds left and ninth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham hung on to stun the tournament's No. 1 seed 76-75 Sunday in the second round of the St. Louis Regional.
Kentucky's Gerald Fitch missed a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left and Chuck Hayes' tip rolled off the rim just before the buzzer, ending the Wildcats season short of an eighth national championship.
"I'm still in shock," Hayes said. "It's tough to look at my teammates right now."
Cast as the team to beat for the ninth time since 1979, the Wildcats (27-5) failed to bring another trophy back to Rupp Arena, following Stanford's early exit and leaving Saint Joseph's and Duke as the remaining top seeds after two rounds.
The Blazers (22-9) advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1982 with their second big upset of Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.
UAB plays fourth-seeded Kansas in the round of 16 Friday.
The Blazers' win came almost exactly 23 years to the day that they beat Kentucky in the second round of the 1981 tournament - a victory UAB had claimed as the turning point in its basketball program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season.
This one might just top it.
"It's pretty unbelievable," said Finley, a senior. "That shot definitely was a blessing from above. Hopefully, I've got a lot more games left in the tournament, but I don't know if it can get any better than this."
Using a "40 minutes of Hell" attack that coach Mike Anderson learned under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas, the Blazers took it to the Wildcats (27-5) from the outset.
Richardson was cheering and waving his arms in the stands for the Blazers like he was on the sideline coaching the Razorbacks.
"Forty minutes of Hell - Part Two," Richardson screamed in the middle of UAB's cheering section that had turned into a mosh pit. "I knew they had a chance."
Anderson wasn't so sure. On Saturday, the second-year coach said his team's best chance at an upset would be if there was a celestial alignment.
Maybe he should take a look at the heavens.
"We knew coming in it was like David vs. Goliath and we were David," Anderson said. "I'll tell you what: David swung a mighty blow."
Kentucky's senior class of Fitch, Cliff Hawkins, Erik Daniels and Antwain Barbour, will leave Kentucky without making the Final Four.
Wildcats coach Tubby Smith didn't make excuses.
"I think this team did overachieve in a way, but we could have been better, should have been better, should have been moving on, and it just wasn't our day today."
Kentucky rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and took a 75-74 lead with 29.3 seconds left when Kelenna Azubuike dunked in a miss.
After Finley's shot, Fitch missed an open shot from the left wing, and Hayes missed the tip.
"That's a shot I'm supposed to make," Fitch said.
"I may be dreaming," Anderson said, shaking his head. "But I'm going to keep dreaming."
