Top 5 SEC Tournament games of the John Calipari era

Howdy there, BBN! The time has finally arrived — later today the ‘Cats will begin their run at what could be one of the more exciting SEC Men’s Basketball Tournaments in recent history. The conference is pretty stacked this year, after all.

All the excitement had me thinking: what are my favorite SEC tournament memories under UK head coach John Calipari? It’s a tough one, but I did my best to rank my top 5. What do you think?

#5 – No. 1 Kentucky v. No. 22 Florida, 2012 SEC Semifinals

When you think ‘Cats in New Orleans in 2012, you probably think about the NCAA championship game — and that’s fair. However, before the ‘Cats kicked some Jayhawk butt in the NCAA tourney, they played for their conference championship in the Big Easy.

After snagging the No. 1 seed, the ‘Cats faced No. 22 Florida in the semifinal game. The Gators, powered by shooting guard Bradley Beal, led by as many as 10 at one point in the first half. Beal ended this one with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Erik Murphy added 24 points of his own, but Cal’s ‘Cats weren’t interested in going away.

After scoring just one point in Kentucky’s previous win over LSU in the semifinals, Anthony Davis found his groove again in this one. The big man finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Doron Lamb led with 16 points. Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague each added 15 and MKG ended just shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. The ‘Cats battled back fiercely and finally left with a 74-71 win over Billy Donovan’s Gators…though they would lose the next day to Vandy in the championship. Regardless, we all know who took home the big hardware that season.

#4 – Kentucky v. No. 13 Tennessee, 2018 SEC Championship Game

After earning their lowest SEC Tournament seed in Coach Cal’s nine seasons at UK (No. 4), the ‘Cats had a lot on the line in this one. Kentucky had a tough run at the end of the regular season, losing four of their last five games. However, they made it to the conference championship with relative ease, facing the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers in St. Louis.

Kentucky led by as many as 17 in the first half thanks in part to a huge effort from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and two steals — good enough to earn him the title of Most Valuable Player. Kevin Knox had 18 of his own along with seven rebounds. It was the bench, though, that set the ‘Cats apart. Wenyen Gabriel and Quade Green had a combined 22, pushing the ‘Cats to a 77-72 win over the Vols.

It wasn’t a given, though, as the Vols put up a valiant fight in search of their first conference title in 40 years. Admiral Schofield led with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Grant Williams added 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals. However, they were plagued by poor shooting. Just one night after hitting 11 of their first 12 shots in a semifinal win over Arkansas, the Vols made just five of their first 25 against UK.

#3 – No. 1 Kentucky v. No. 21 Arkansas, 2015 SEC Championship Game

The No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats entered this game a perfect 34-0 on the season, but wanted much more than that. After beating No. 21 Arkansas 78-63 in the SEC Championship, the team sent the student managers to cut down the nets. Those weren’t the nets the team cared about.

Willie Cauley-Stein and Andrew Harrison each had 15 points in the contest. Andrew was 3-3 from the 3-point line while his twin brother Aaron had 11 of his own, shooting 4-10 and dishing out six assists. Tyler Ulis came off the bench for eight points and six assists. The ‘Cats shot 51% from the field and 58.3% from the 3-point line and never trailed. Platoon forever!

Arkansas swept the ‘Cats in the previous season, but couldn’t find the same mojo in this one. Michael Qualls came off the bench for 18 points in just 24 minutes on the court. Bobby Portis, the coach’s SEC Player of the Year, contributed 13. The rest of the Razorbacks struggled offensively, though. As a team, Arkansas shot 44.4% from the field and 30.8% from the 3-point line.

#2 – No. 16 Kentucky v. No. 17 Texas A&M, 2016 SEC Championship Game

The ‘Cats and the Aggies split the regular-season title after UK lost a heartbreaker to No. 17 Texas A&M in College Station just a month before. The ‘Cats were ready for a rematch in Nashville, though. Both teams made it to the championship with ease, but the final game would prove much more challenging.

The game was as back-and-forth as they come, featuring 10 ties and eight lead changes. Texas A&M’s Danuel House Jr. scored a career-high 32 points including an overtime-forcing layup with less than 20 seconds left in regulation. Jordan Jones added 15 points and nine rebounds, followed by Alex Caruso with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. House hit another three to tie it up at 75 in overtime, but after Derek Willis hit one of his own to take a three-point lead, the ‘Cats would not falter.

Tyler Ulis played the entire 45 minutes of the contest, racking up a career-high 30 points, five assists and three steals. His performance was good enough to win him the tournament’s MVP award just a week or so after winning the regular season MVP. Jamal Murray came next with 17. Alex Poythress, Isaiah Briscoe and Derek Willis all had 10. It was Kentucky’s 29th SEC Tournament title.

#1 – No. 2 Kentucky v. Mississippi State, 2010 SEC Championship Game

This was one of those games where you remember exactly where you were and exactly what you were doing. If you’ll recall, tensions were already high with Mississippi State after Bulldog fans got ahold of DeMarcus Cousins’ phone number prior to their regular-season matchup in Starkville a month earlier. After the ‘Cats won that one in overtime, MSU fans threw cups filled with ice and water bottles onto the court.

Though there was no debris thrown in this one, the game itself was just as exciting. Eric Bledsoe led the ‘Cats with 18 points. Big men Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins had 15 and 10 respectively, along with a combined 16 rebounds. It was John Wall, though, who left Nashville with the MVP honors. Wall finished with 17 points, six rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

The Bulldogs were led by Ravern Johnson’s 20 points. Jarvis Varnado and Dee Bost had 18 and 16 respectively. Barry Stewart added an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, helping push the Bulldogs to a 62-57 lead with just under 2:30 left in regulation.

Cousins was the hero. After Eric Bledsoe purposely missed his second free throw at the end of regulation, Cousins tipped in Wall’s missed 3-pointer from the corner to send the game to overtime. Though he did miss his final shot of regulation, Wall scored seven of his 17 points in overtime as the ‘Cats took the 75-74 win.

Let’s hope we can add this year’s SEC Tournament run to this list in the coming weeks. Until then, what was your favorite SEC Tournament run of the Coach Cal era so far?