Like all of us, we grew up hating Tennessee, Louisville, or Duke, maybe even all three. I can confidently tell you that was the same for Kentucky’s Trent Noah, born and raised in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
Growing up in Harlan County, he lived just under 45 miles from the state of Tennessee line, seeing nearly as much orange as blue with those two areas colliding in their fandom. Many argue that living down that far south in the state you have to represent your colors much harder on a daily basis compared to other parts, where both fanbases are just extremely passionate and often live on the same streets, playing each other multiple times a year across multiple sports. So, coming all the way up to Lexington to embark on a lifelong dream of playing basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, this annual matchup had to be circled on the calendar for Trent.
His first chance at the Volunteers came on the road in Knoxville back on January 28, a place he is very familiar with. He would burst out for 5 points in 9 minutes for a hurt Kentucky team, going 2/2 from the field. While that doesn’t look like much on paper, it was very pivotal during the game because one shot was a deep three to give Kentucky that umph with the other being a desperately needed layup, resulting in five quick points that were otherwise unaccounted for before the game. He would make the most of his opportunity for a banged-up roster, carving out a role against a team he grew up hating.
Fast forwarded to just two weeks later on February 11, Tennessee would make the trip to Rupp Arena to look for revenge. Kentucky — still hurt — would have a role for Trent Noah and others to step up and make some contributions to the game, which the Kentucky boy did exactly that. He would break-out for a career-high 11 points, which 9 of those would come in the first half. He piled in a 3/4 shooting mark which all came from deep, tied to 2 rebounds and an assist as well.
He now owns 16 points against the orange in just two total games, nearly matching his 19 total points in 12 games combined against all other opponents this season. To me, it seems like this game is a little more personal for him than the others (excluding Travis Perry), kind of like us fans watching along.
“It’s amazing. It’s definitely one of the most fun games on the schedule. There’s nothing like it growing up, watching this go down in my living room and then crying whenever we would lose, and being so happy when we would win. Being able to be a part of it, it was just so cool,” said Noah on playing well against the Vols.
While it’s cliche to say that it “just means more” for a guy like Trent Noah or Travis Perry to play well against an opponent like this, it’s still very much true. They spent their entire life in this state, just like me and you, growing up rooting for the ‘Cats and watching every Tennessee matchup we had while also dreaming to be a part of it someday. To be one of the select few who actually got to grow up and do that, then on top of that step up in the moment and play efficiently in the spotlight of it, it’s almost priceless to witness and to feel internally, on both sides. Whether you were watching this through your television or you were there in the building, you had to have felt that Kentucky passion bleeding through from Trent to the Big Blue Nation. I know I sure did. The excitement and cold chills that sparked across the state in awe, it was just a great moment to take in.
While the headlines are centering around Trent Noah, I’d be remised if I didn’t also note that Travis Perry — a Lyon County (KY) native — provided valuable minutes as well, clocking in for 12 minutes and earning a career-high 8 points in the win.
It never gets old taking home a win over Tennessee, and it’s definitely not one we take for granted. To start the first year of the Mark Pope era with a season sweep, I’m not sure what else you could’ve asked for in this new chapter of the rivalry. One win coming on the road when they were ranked 8th in the country, then one coming at home when they were ranked in the top-5, just absolutely great to see from this Wildcat team.
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