Kentucky sent some of its players off the court early before Saturday’s game at Arkansas ended, raising some questions about sportsmanship. However, they had a different reason for doing the publicized walk of shame.
The Wildcats lost 75-73 to the Razorbacks in an electric atmosphere at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Hog fans were going nuts throughout the game and color-coordinated their clothes for a “stripe out.”
Fans at the game rushed the court after the contest ended, and that was a scene Kentucky didn’t want its fans being a part of. With Arkansas’ Davonte Davis at the free throw line and 4.4 seconds remaining, Kentucky sent its bench players to the locker room.
Here is the video:
And this video from the crowd also shows the boos the players received.
Kentucky knew what kind of celebratory scene it was going to be inside the arena and wanted to have some of their players avoid the situation.
JD Notae scored 30 for the Hogs, who have won 13 of 14. Notae said Kentucky leaving the floor early didn’t bother Arkansas, because they were the victors.
Shaking hands after a game is an important part of proper sportsmanship. But in this case, it was unlikely that the players would have been able to shake hands before the fans crowded the floor, so sending off the players early probably wasn’t a bad decision.
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