UNCW’s Siddle: UK nemesis as player and coach

UNC Wilmington head coach Takayo Siddle steered his team to an 80-73 upset win over No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday, a very familiar feeling for him.

Sixteen years ago, Siddle scored eight points as a guard at Gardner Webb when his team upset Kentucky in Rupp Arena during the 2007-08 season.

As a player, Siddle helped Gardner Webb beat Kentucky and capture its first victory over a ranked team in school history. On Saturday, UNC Wilmington secured its first road win over a ranked team in school history.

Prior to Saturday’s matchup, Siddle told ESPN he didn’t dwell on the feat at Rupp Arena as a player when he talked to his team. But he did use it as motivation.

“One thing I told the guys about when we pulled it off [in 2007] is that it’s going to be really loud in there and, as we continue to respond, it’s going to get really quiet in there and everyone is going to start leaving early and that’s what happened,” Siddle told ESPN after the win. “That’s when I had a déjà vu moment.”

Against Kentucky in 2007, the Wildcats, coached by former head coach Billy Gillispie, hadn’t lost a regular season game to a mid-major program in six years when they fell to Gardner Webb. On Saturday, Siddle’s squad was an 18.5-point underdog, per ESPN BET.

Kentucky’s loss capped a weekend filled with upsets among top-25 teams that suffered losses to unranked teams. On Saturday, No. 3 Marquette lost 75-64 at Wisconsin and No. 7 Duke suffered a 72-68 loss at Georgia Tech. Also, Villanova lost its third Big 5 game of the season in a 57-55 loss to Drexel at home.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Saturday was the first time in the Associated Press poll era that Duke, Kentucky and Villanova all lost to unranked opponents on the same day when they were all ranked.

Saturday’s Kentucky loss extended a wild 24 hours in college basketball. On Friday, Northwestern beat No. 1 Purdue, 92-88, in overtime and No. 4 UConn suffered a 69-65 loss at Kansas. With its 82-55 win over Colgate on Saturday, No. 2 Arizona will likely be the No. 1 team in America when the next Associated Press top-25 poll is released on Monday.

But UNC Wilmington’s victory stood out amid the chaos.

On Thursday, UNC Wilmington lost at East Carolina, 74-66. Siddle said the loss humbled his team and helped it prepare for Saturday’s game.

John Calipari’s squad lost control of the matchup early. UNC Wilmington had a 14-point edge, 38-24, over Kentucky after Nolan Hodge hit a 3-pointer with 2:55 to play in the first half.

Five minutes into the second half, however, Kentucky took the lead, but Shykeim Phillips (13 points, six rebounds, four assists) made clutch plays and Trazarien White kept scoring (27 points, 10 rebounds) to help seal the win down the stretch for UNC Wilmington. Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard led his team with 25 points.

Siddle said White and Phillips helped his squad maintain its composure as Kentucky fought back in the second half.

“I thought our upperclassmen, Phillips and White, they’ve been in big moments with me a lot,” Siddle said. “I thought they did a really good job calming everybody down and making sure we executed as a group.”

After the game, Siddle said he reflected on the moment he achieved as a player while he celebrated the same achievement as a head coach. He said his team remembered his pregame message about the possibility of an upset after his success in that building 16 years ago.

“They don’t want to hear about my glory days,” he said. “It was so long ago. My main message was ‘It can happen, but you just gotta believe it can happen.'”