Kentucky WBB's surprise SEC Tournament run inspiring MBB ahead of postseason
Kentucky Women’s Basketball winning four games in four days, including a win over the No. 1 team in the country, was not something that any member of the Big Blue Nation felt was possible just a few weeks ago. The Wildcats were admittedly left for dead, sitting on a 9-11 overall record and an even worse 2-8 mark in SEC play. Anything that could have gone wrong earlier in the season did: injuries, illnesses, suspensions, COVID cancelations, and anything else you can think of, Kentucky went through it.
But that midseason turmoil turned into a run for the history books, one that will be remembered for decades to come. Kentucky WBB has won 10 straight games, is now ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll, and is coming off its first SEC Tournament title in exactly 40 years. The ‘Cats took down No. 6 LSU, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 1 South Carolina in back-to-back-to-back days, all of which were revenge wins from prior in the season.
Dre’Una Edwards’ game-winning shot to beat the Gamecocks has been played endlessly across the state and even the nation. A projected seven-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament is now on the table, just two weeks after an NIT bid would have felt like a lucky achievement. And oh yeah, Rhyne Howard is still the most talented and versatile player in all of women’s college basketball.
As a result of Kentucky’s surprising run in the SEC Tournament, it has the entirety of the BBN eager to see what the men’s side can do during its own go-around. The men’s team obviously watched the title game on Sunday afternoon, and it’s instilled a do-or-die mindset for when the ‘Cats take the court in Tampa this coming Friday for their own magical run.
“That was an amazing achievement that they put on, especially the kind of year they had,” Sahvir Wheeler said during Tuesday’s press conference. “Had to deal with adversity, missing guys, dealing with injuries, I think a couple of people got sick, but just for them to be able to come together as one and go on the run that they had is amazing. Their confidence is sky-high.
“Also the coach (Kyra Elzy), I saw a video that she was like it’s your all’s turn, it’s your guys’ turn, to Keion (Brooks Jr.) and Jacob (Toppin), and that’s just motivation added. It feels good knowing that your women’s team won it. They dealt with adversity, we’ve dealt with some as well throughout the year. For them to do it kinda gives us an extra boost like hey man we can go out there and do this as well.”
The game-winning shot from Edwards hit a little bit closer to TyTy Washington than the rest of his teammates, though. When he first arrived in Lexington back in the summer, it was Edwards and her point guard teammate, Jazmine Massengill, who first helped settle him into his new home.
Washington was watching the game by himself in his dorm room and couldn’t but let out some yells and screams after the shot went in.
“I definitely watched it,” Washington said on Tuesday. “It just shows that all Kentucky sports all kind of have the same mindset. We’re going to battle until the clock hits triple-zero at the end. We’re never going to give up no matter who we’re playing against. We’re gonna go out and just play hard and fight and that’s exactly what the women did and they came out with a big win. Seeing them do it and we know we can do it as well, it just added more fuel to the fire for us. They won it so we want to win it as well.”
Kentucky MBB enters the 2022 SEC Tournament as the three-seed, but the betting favorite to win it all. There won’t be an underdog mentality for the ‘Cats to rely on as a motivator. The ‘Cats will get every opponent’s best shot, just as it has all regular-season long. The women took a much different mental approach to the tournament than the men will, but the end goal is still the same, and that’s all that truly matters come the championship game on Sunday afternoon.
“We go in with the mindset that they went with. Because to win the SEC is a big thing. It is a big thing for them, especially how they really struggled during the season,” Oscar Tshiebwe added. “They didn’t have enough players, they had so many injuries, but they came back and finished strong. It is great example for us too. We did struggle with injury but this is the time to fight and bring home the trophy.”
Kentucky’s SEC Tournament opener will tipoff on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network. UK will face the winner of Alabama vs. Vanderbilt-Georgia.
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