Time To Get Back to SEC Tournament Revenge Tour

John Calipari teams were a lot of things during the first 10 years of his tenure in Lexington. They were dominant, smothering, entertaining. Cal teams would show up for big games. They would make the clutch plays when needed. The stars would develop and the role players would do their part. But one thing that goes underappreciated about that first decade is how much revenge the Cats would get. In the rare occasion an SEC team would get the best of UK, they would almost always come back.

Kentucky gets a chance at revenge tonight against Texas A&M. The Aggies got the better of UK back in January but it feels like the teams have been going in opposite directions since that time. UK is peaking and A&M has been struggling for their NCAA Tournament lives.

For the first 10 years, this was a PRIME spot for UK to roll. Take a look at all of the instances where UK played an opponent in the SEC Tournament that had beaten them in the regular season:

2010

February 27th: Tennessee 74, Kentucky 65 (Knoxville)
March 13th: Kentucky 74, Tennessee 45 (SEC Tournament Semifinal)

2011

February 1st: Ole Miss 71, Kentucky 69 (Oxford)
March 11th: Kentucky 75, Ole Miss 66 (SEC Tournament Quarterfinal)

January 18th: Alabama 68, Kentucky 66 (Tuscaloosa)
March 12th: Kentucky 72, Alabama 58 (SEC Tournament Semifinal)

February 5th: Florida, 70, Kentucky 68 (Gainesville)
March 13th: Kentucky 70, Florida 54 (SEC Tournament Final)

2014

February 15th: Florida 69, Kentucky 59 (Lexington)
March 8th: Florida 84, Kentucky 65 (Gainesville)
March 16th: Florida 61, Kentucky 60 (SEC Tournament Final)

2016

February 20th: Texas A&M 79, Kentucky 77 (College Station)
March 13th: Kentucky 82, Texas A&M 77 (SEC Tournament Final)

2018

January 6th: Tennessee 76, Kentucky 65 (Knoxville)
February 6th: Tennessee 61, Kentucky 59 (Lexington)
March 11th: Kentucky 77, Tennessee 72 (SEC Tournament Final)

2019

January 5th: Alabama 77, Kentucky 75 (Tuscaloosa)
March 15th: Kentucky 73, Alabama 55 (SEC Tournament Quarterfinal)

March 2nd: Tennessee 71, Kentucky 52 (Knoxville)
March 16th: Tennessee 82, Kentucky 78 (SEC Tournament Semifinal)

2022

February 15th: Tennessee 76, Kentucky 63 (Knoxville)
March 12th: Tennessee 69, Kentucky 62 (SEC Tournament Semifinal)

2023

March 1st: Vanderbilt 68, Kentucky 66 (Lexington)
March 10th: Vanderbilt 80, Kentucky 73 (SEC Tournament Quarterfinal)

From 2010 through the 2019 SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, UK had gone 7-1 in games against opponents who had beaten them that season. Since that time, they have gone 0-3, including in the last 2 SEC Tournaments. This also coincides with UK not even making an SEC Tournament final in the last 4 editions of the event. UK may get a couple opportunities for revenge during this tournament. Texas A&M, Florida, and Tennessee could be the potential path to a title.

This year has felt like a rebirth of sorts for the John Calipari program. I would argue getting payback on teams, like Texas A&M, would be another step towards getting things back to the way they were. If the Cats were to fall tonight, I think it would be another red flag of times gone by for John Calipari.