Does revenge play a factor in the SEC Tournament? Should Kentucky have extra motivation to hammer Ole Miss today after the Rebels got them earlier this season? Players and coaches will often argue no. That this game is just like any other, they prepare the same and come into it with the same mental focus of any other game. Since the SEC Tournament expanded in 1993, Kentucky has played 16 games against teams that it lost to during the regular season. Take a look at those results:
1993
R. Season: Arkansas 101, Kentucky 94
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 92, Arkansas 81
R. Season: Tennessee 78, Kentucky 77
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 101, Tennessee 40
1994
R. Season: Florida 59, Kentucky 57
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 73, Florida 60
R. Season: Arkansas 90, Kentucky 82
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 90, Arkansas 78
1995
R. Season: Arkansas 94, Kentucky 92
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 95, Arkansas 93
1997
R. Season: Mississippi 73, Kentucky 69
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 88, Mississippi 70
1999
R. Season: Arkansas 74, Kentucky 70
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 76, Arkansas 63
2001
R. Season: Mississippi 65, Kentucky 55
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 77, Mississippi 55
R. Season: Arkansas 82, Kentucky 78
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 87, Arkansas 78
2004
R. Season: Georgia 65, Kentucky 57 AND Georgia 74, Kentucky 68
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 69, Georgia 60
2005
R. Season: Florida 53, Kentucky 52
SEC Tourn: Florida 70, Kentucky 53
2006
R. Season: Alabama 68, Kentucky 64
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 68, Alabama 61
2007
R. Season: Alabama 72, Kentucky 61
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 79, Alabama 67
2009
R. Season: Mississippi 85, Kentucky 80
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 71, Mississippi 58
R. Season: LSU 73, Kentucky 70
SEC Tourn: LSU 67, Kentucky 58
2010
R. Season: Tennessee 74, Kentucky 65
SEC Tourn: Kentucky 74, Tennessee 45
Kentucky is 14-2 in the SEC Tournament against teams that beat them in the regular season. To me, that is more than enough evidence that revenge does play a factor in these games. And it gives me more than enough confidence the Cats will roll this afternoon. One last stat to further illustrate how much it plays a role:
AVG. DEFEAT IN REGULAR SEASON: 5 points
AVG. VICTORY IN SEC TOURNAMENT: 13 points
Cats by double digits today.
DOWN WITH THE NCAA!!!!!!
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