The following are the game notes from Kentucky’s 77-68 loss to #9 Kansas Saturday night inside Rupp Arena:
Team records and series notes
- Kentucky ended a four-game hitting streak and is 14-7 overall.
- Kansas ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 17-4.
- Kentucky holds a 24-11 lead in the all-time series.
- UK leads 8-3 in matches played in Lexington.
- Up next for the UK: The Wildcats travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss on Tuesday. Game time is 9:00 PM ET (8:00 PM CT in Oxford) and the game will be broadcast by ESPN.
Team Notes
- The SEC/Big 12 Challenge concludes this season. UK went 5-4 in the event, including 2-3 against Kansas.
- One of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation, Kentucky was limited to four offensive rebounds and the Wildcats were swept 11-0 on second chance points.
Player notes
- Oscar Tshiebwe beat the Wildcats with 18 points and nine rebounds.
- The big man has also been an especially adept passer recently as he continues to get extra attention. He had four assists tonight, his fifth straight game with three or more.
- Jacob Toppin scored 14 points, his fourth consecutive double-digit game and 12th of the season.
- Cason Wallace had 14 points, his 12th double-digit game of the season.
- He led the Wildcats with five assists, the seventh time this season he has beaten the Cats in that category.
- Antonio Reeves came off the bench to score 10 points, his seventh consecutive double-figure game and his 16th of the season.
Coach Giovanni Calipari
- Calipari is 5-8 against Kansas, including 5-5 in the UK.
- Calipari has an all-time on court record of 824-248 and is 379-108 in 14 seasons in the UK.
- The UK is 68-48 (58.6%) against competition ranked under Calipari.
Rupp arena
- Kentucky is 644-79 (89.1%) in Rupp Arena’s 47-year history.
- Kentucky is 217-19 (91.9%) in Rupp Arena under Calipari, including 24-7 against top 10 opponents from the Associated Press.
In the first half
- Kentucky opened with a starting lineup of Cason Wallace, CJ Fredrick, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin, and Oscar Tshiebwe for the fifth straight game.
- Antonio Reeves was the first substitute at 12:49.
- Midway through the first half, Kansas trailed 22–21, but the Jayhawks outscored United Kingdom 20–12 to take a 41–34 lead into halftime.
- Livingston and Toppin led Kentucky with eight points each.
In the second half
- Kentucky began the second half in the starting lineup.
- UK made it 47-43 and Kansas called timeout with 16:10 on the clock.
- UK went to 51-50, but a three-pointer, steal and layup by Jayhawk quickly restored a six-point lead.
- The Wildcats have slipped below two points on four occasions (58-56, 60-58, 62-60, 64-62) but Kansas responded with scores each time.
- Leading 64-62, Kansas hit three 3-pointers to extend the lead to 73-66 with three minutes left and the Jayhawks held on for the win.
Read more about Kentucky’s loss to Kansas HERE.
Everything John Calipari said after the defeat can be found HERE.
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