Tuesday, November 25, 2014

UT-Arlington vs. Kentucky Game Notes

UT Arlington at Kentucky, Men’s Basketball 
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 25, 2014

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 92, UT Arlington 44

Kentucky is 6-0 and UT Arlington is 3-2.

Kentucky leads the series 2-0.

Kentucky is 184-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 24 of the last 26 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.

Coach John Calipari has led three teams to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 68-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 27-4 at UK.

Kentucky returns to action Sunday at home against Providence. Game time is 2 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN2.

First-Half Facts

Kentucky’s opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Alex Poythress, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein for the fourth time this season.

Kentucky finished the half with a 42-5 run for a 55-12 advantage at intermission. UK started the 42-5 run with a 10-0 stretch and finished it with a 28-0 spurt.

Kentucky’s 43-point lead tied the second-largest halftime margin in school history. The record was a 44-point advantage vs. LSU (86-42) on Jan. 16, 1996.  The other 43-point halftime margin was Feb. 27, 1956, when UK led Georgia 75-32 at intermission.

With the Mavericks scoring 12 points in the first half, it marked the sixth time in 11 halves this season that the opponent has been held under 20.

Devin Booker paced the opening stanza with four 3-pointers for 12 points, as many as UTA had as a team.

Second-Half Story

Kentucky started the second half with Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson.

Booker opened the second half with a dunk, extending the run to 30-0, before UTA tallied again. UK led by as many as 50 points before finishing with a 92-44 victory.

Team Notes

UK won consecutive games by 58 points (vs. Montana State) and 48 points (vs. UT Arlington).  The last time UK won consecutive games by at least 48 came on Feb. 2, 1954, a 51-point win over Georgia Tech (99-48), followed by a 51-point win over Georgia (106-55) on Feb. 4, 1954. Kentucky shot 56.6 percent from the field (30 of 53), second time this season UK has made at least 50 percent of its shots.


UT Arlington was limited to 27 percent from the field.

Kentucky has held all six opponents under 40 percent shooting, including three games under 30 percent. UK had 11 blocked shots tonight. UK has blocked at least seven shots in every game this season, the longest streak since rejecting at least seven in 12 straight games from Dec. 28, 2011 through February 4, 2012.

UK won rebounding 49-29 tonight and has outrebounded all six opponents this season.

UK won bench points 45-23 and has won bench points by at least 22 points in every game this season.

Kentucky is now 43-0 under Coach Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 or fewer points. No Wildcat played more than 21 minutes tonight.

First time this season that six Wildcats scored in double figures.

Player Notes

Devin Booker had a game-high 19 points, including five of six on 3-pointers. He is the first Wildcat to make five 3s in a game since James Young on Jan. 28, 2014, at LSU. He has made at least three 3-pointers in the last three games and has made 12 of 17 from 3-point land during that span. 19 points ties Aaron Harrison for the most points scored by a Wildcat this season.

Karl-Anthony Towns totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds, his first Wildcat double-double. Both of those are his personal bests as a Wildcat. In his first game back after an illness, 
Alex Poythress had four points, nine rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.

Dakari Johnson scored 12 points, his fourth straight game in double figures and fifth this season. He made his first seven foul shots and finished 10 of 12, a career high for free throws made.

Aaron Harrison had 11 points, his third straight game in double figures.

Andrew Harrison also had 11 points, his third game in double figures this season.

Tyler Ulis had a game-high five assists, second straight game to lead the team in that category.


Trey Lyles had 10 points and a season-high nine rebounds.

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