**3/17/2012 - NCAA March Madness Round 3 - Louisville, KY**
If you are a friend of mine or have read my blog in the past, you know I am a HUGE University of Kentucky fan. I've had conversations with Brian, his wife, his father, and his bodyguard about the team (either football or basketball depending on the season). I was a UK fan before I was a Brian fan but the fact that Brian is from Lexington and also a UK fan does not hurt the cause one bit.
I would also hope that most of my readers know what an AMAZING basketball season the Wildcats have been having this year. They currently hold a 34-2 record and a perfect 16-0 conference record. They were the number one overall seed for the NCAA tournament and many believe that they have what it takes to win the championship even though they are a young team.
Imagine my joy when it was announced that the University of Kentucky Wildcats would be playing in Louisville, KY for Rounds 2 and 3 of the NCAA tournament! I happened to be out of town the night of Selection Sunday but hopped on my computer and bought tickets for round three right away. Unfortunately, I couldn't miss the work to go down for Round 2 on a Thursday. Of course, the event was "Sold Out" and I had to resort to paying higher than ticket value on Stub Hub. I wasn't sure at the time who was going to go with me but I was certain I could find someone and bought two tickets. I knew I was going to have a free place to stay for the weekend and thought that would be a huge motivator for whoever decided that wanted my spare ticket.
As the week moved on, I had no takers on my ticket, even after a huge reduction in price. I was going to be traveling to Louisville by myself and attending the game alone. At that point I just wanted to get some kind of money out of the extra ticket. I was going to have to resort to selling it on the streets of Louisville.
I left right after work on Friday night and made the boring five hour drive down to Louisville. I said goodbye to Lake Michigan and hello to the Ohio River. If any of you have driven the length of Indiana, you know what an uninteresting drive it is. The lack of any kind of scenery besides corn fields makes it an ideal night driving state. You can be sure you won't miss anything by driving in the dark. I arrived to Southern Indiana just after midnight after being stuck in some stop and go traffic just north of Indianapolis due to road construction. I was beat and knew I had a long day ahead of me the next day.
The next day I had one primary goal before heading across the river to the game....stock up on University of Kentucky gear because I can't get it up here in Northwest Indiana. There are two stores I must always hit when I travel to the Louisville area. The first is called Kentucky Korner, where there is nothing but University of Kentucky and University of Louisville merchandise (but more UK than U of L). The second is actually a craft store called Ben Franklin's. Here they have some regular merchandise, but also some crafty stuff as well. Between the two stores, I picked up a new t-shirt, hoodie, pair of socks, keychain, lanyard, and purse. I know when I see something that I really like, I have to pick it up then because I never know the next time I will be in the area and whether or not it will be in stock.
I was fully stocked up on new gear and decided to head to the venue to try to sell my ticket. The streets of Louisville were crawling with Blue and White, even though it was St. Patrick's Day. The Big Blue Nation came to represent. I walked up and down the streets to scope out the ticket selling situation. Eventually I found someone buying tickets on one of the corners. He bought it for much less than what I paid for it, but it was better than getting nothing back. I could now head back to the venue and wait for the doors to open.
 |
| Waiting outside the venue in my new UK gear |
I had to smile as I arrived to the KFC Yum! Center because of the amazing memories I had from the NKOTBSB show. I was now going to get to see my Wildcats play here. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining, and the Wildcat spirit was in the air. I talked to a nice couple from the western part of the state after taking their picture for them. She had always been a Louisville fan until she started working for a UK outfitters company. I'm glad she turned away from the dark side.
We were finally let into the building and I made the long trek to my nose bleed seats. Even though I was only about nine rows from the top, they still were not bad seats. I was, of course, sad that I couldn't share the experience with a friend. However, I was at an NCAA tournament game....and getting to see an amazing Wildcats team. I was just happy to be there, even if it was alone. A high school kid named Parker eventually sat in the seat that I sold the ticket for. I wanted to know how much the person I sold the ticket to was going to charge for it but I thought it might be rude to ask Parker how much he paid for the seat.
 |
| 1. Sad Alone Chrissy 2. Nosebleed Seats 3. March Madness! 4. Happy to be there Chrissy |
By purchasing tickets to the entire round, you get to watch all of the games at that venue for the round. In the case of Round 3, it is two games. The first game of the night was the Murray State Racers (6) v. the Marquette Golden Eagles (3). There were two small sections of yellow (both teams main color) and some yellow spattered here and there. That arena was decked out in blue. Most UK fans were cheering for Murray State, a small state funded university in southwestern Kentucky. However after a tough fight for most of the game, the Golden Eagles came out on top 62-53 to get into the Sweet Sixteen.
It was now the time almost the entire arena was waiting for....Wildcat basketball! The crowd erupted as the Wildcats took the floor for warmups. The game set up the Kentucky Wildcats (1) v. the Iowa State Cyclones (8). During warm up, I heard a familiar tune played by the Iowa State band and knew it had to be a good sign.
"I Want It That Way" - Iowa State Band
2012 NCAA March Madness Round 3
Louisville, KY
 |
| Starting Line Up - Lamb, Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist, Davis, Teague |
The starting line up included Doron Lamb, Terrance Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, and Marquis Teague. Darius Miller and Kyle Wiltjer would play at other points of the game. The Cats came out strong right away, roaring to a 7-2 lead capped by a Terrance Jones dunk. With only 11:27 to go in the first half, the Cats were on fire with their 3 pointers, making 3 in a row (one of which was later ruled to actually be a 2) and going up 21-11. The Cyclones would then battle back on an 11-3 run after after their first 3 pointer, but would not take the lead from the Wildcats who were still up 26-22 with 6:59 left in the first half. The first half closes with an 8-1 run by UK and a 38-27 lead by the Cats. Kentucky was able to dominate the boards the first half, outrebounding ISU 21-11. They also shot 48.8% and held ISU (a very good three point shooting team) to 1 for 8 from the three point line.
 |
| Doron Lamb for the 3 |
 |
| Kyle Wiltjer takes a bad spill |
 |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist drives to the basket |
It's always nice to have a nice lead at half time, especially knowing that they had won 60 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at the half. We were up by 11 but I knew it wasn't time to get cocky. Anything can happen in these games...just look at the 16 point comeback by Western Kentucky against Mississippi Valley in Round 1.
Miller started the second half in the place of Lamb, who already had two fouls against him. Just as I feared, ISU opened the half on a 7-0 run and Coach Calipari quickly used two of his timeouts. The Wildcats were clinging to a 38-34 lead with 18:26 left in the game. The lead does not last for long when the Cyclones tie the game at 42. A Jones dunk changes that and gives the Cats a two point lead, 44-42 and the UK outscores the Cyclones 30-10 with a 20-2 run. With 7:11 left in the game, UK is well in control with a score of 72-52. With 2:55 left to go, the Cats stay in control, 84-65, with Teague and Miller on a roll and ISU's White fouled out. The Wildcats end up beating the Cyclones 87-71 to move onto the Sweet 16 in Atlanta, GA.
 |
| This basket by Terrance Jones started a 20-2 run by the Wildcats. |
 |
| An Anthony Davis block is not uncommon to see, but hard to catch with a photo. |
 |
| Not happening with Davis and Jones around the basket. |
 |
| Even the Wildcat gets into the Big Blue spirit. |
 |
| Drive to the basket by Marquis Teague. |
 |
| The Wildcats play hard but fight even harder. Davis ends up crashing into the media table after a well-fought battle for the ball. |
 |
| Darius Miller for 3. |
 |
| A brief overview of why the Kentucky Wildcats came out on top. |
If you have never been to a Kentucky game, you need to....even if you aren't a Wildcats fan. The Big Blue Nation is like none other that you have ever seen. We were lucky that this game practically happened in the Wildcats back yard, but fans of this team will travel for hundred of miles to cheer on their team. Plus, fans are spread out all over the nation. The chants of "Go Big Blue" when the Cats are on fire is electrifying. The "boos" that erupt whenever Duke or a Duke player is mentioned or shown on the scoreboard will make you want to join in. And the "Ohhhhhhhh C-A-T-S - Cats, Cats, Cats" chant as you are leaving the arena after the big win makes you happy to be part of the Big Blue Nation. I would not trade the experience for anything.
