A look back on the 2021-2022 UK year: December

Good afternoon, BBN! As we continue our tour of the highlights from each month across UK sports and recap the greatest moments we start to run out of football wins to celebrate and get to focus the spotlight on the winter hoops! One particular one against the Tar Heels stands out in particular, but all in all December was a pretty great month for UK. Let’s dive in:

12/1: Lady Wildcats beat West Virginia in SEC/Big 12 Challenge

Both the men and women’s basketball squads bested the Big 12 this year with large blowouts, as Kyra Elzy’s squad took down West Virginia 83-60 in Memorial Coliseum. It was great that they got that win in the early going to help them survive the tough January and February conference stretch where they struggled a lot before winning the SEC Tournament.

12/18: UK stomps and crushes and pulverizes UNC in CBS Sports Classic

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

No other team in college basketball has ever gotten the best of UK more often than not like UNC has, because going into this game Carolina’s record against the ‘Cats was 25-16. The way UK played I think was enough for five wins though because they torched the Tar Heels for a 98-69 win where they came a basket away from hitting the century mark. This thing was never close from start to finish and was one of their most dominant performances of the season against a team that would surprisingly run all the way to the title game a few months later.

12/22: UK hosts Western Kentucky after devastating tornadoes

Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The December tornadoes that wreaked havoc in Western Kentucky caused widespread relief efforts throughout the state and country, and Wildcats got to help out in a big way by bringing the Hilltoppers into Rupp Arena for a showdown on the hardwood after another in-state team up north called in sick. Not only did they get to bring lots of support and financial aid through the game, they also got to clobber their opponent by 35 and give Oscar Tshiebwe a chance to pull down 28 rebounds—yes, 28 rebounds. Great that this game was able to happen even though the U of L game never got rescheduled.

Other Memorable Moments:

• 12/3: Men’s Volleyball wins first round NCAA Tournament game against SE Missouri State
• 12/31: Men’s Basketball beats Tubby Smith’s High Point 92-48

What’s your favorite moment from December 2021?