Saturday, March 14, 2015

Kentucky vs. Auburn Post-Game Notes

Kentucky vs. Auburn, Men’s Basketball – Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn., March 14, 2015

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 91, Auburn 67

Team records: Kentucky is 33-0, Auburn is 15-20.

Kentucky leads the series 91-17 and has won 18 straight against the Tigers.  Earlier this season, UK defeated Auburn 110-75 in Lexington

With 33 consecutive victories …

It breaks the record for the longest win streak in Kentucky history. UK went 25-0 in 1953-54, then won the first seven games of the 1954-55 season.

It extended the longest season-opening win streak for any team in SEC history.

It extended the longest win streak for a John Calipari-coached team.

Kentucky is 210-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 55 of the last 57 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.

Calipari has led three schools to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 99-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 58-4 at UK. 

Calipari is now 185-37 (.833) as head coach at Kentucky, the best winning percentage of any coach in UK history.

Kentucky plays Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT (noon CDT) in the championship game of the SEC Tournament vs. the winner of Arkansas/Georgia game.

In the SEC Tournament:

Kentucky has an all-time record of 123-25 (.831) in SEC Tournament games.

UK has a record of 38-2 (.950) in semifinal games.

UK has won 27 tourney titles with a 27-10 record in championship games.

Team Notes:

UK limited Auburn to 33.3 field-goal percentage today. The Wildcats lead the nation in field-goal percentage defense.

Kentucky blocked seven shots today. The Wildcats are second in the nation with 6.9 blocks per game.

UK shot 56.3 percent from the field, the 10th game this season that the Wildcats have made at least 50 percent.

UK shot 50 percent from three-point range, 7 of 14. It is the third game this season that the Cats made at least half their long-distance shots.

Kentucky shot 85.7 percent from the foul line, 30 of 35. 

30 free throws made is a season high

The Wildcats have made 77.9 percent at the charity stripe over the last nine games. UK won bench points 26-5. UK has won bench points in every game this season.

UK was behind for 13 seconds today. The Wildcats have trailed for only 178:56 of a possible 1,335 minutes this season.

Five Wildcats scored in double figures, first that time that has happened since the previous game vs. Auburn on Feb. 21.

Kentucky’s streak of 930 consecutive games with a 3-pointer was extended when Aaron Harrison made a three at the 19:14 mark of the first half.
First-Half Facts:

Kentucky’s opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Trey Lyles, Karl-

Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein for the 14th time this season.

Auburn made the first basket, then UK responded with the next eight points.

UK also made runs of 7-0, 9-0 and 6-0 in building a 34-14 lead, its biggest advantage of the half.

UK went to halftime ahead 47-29.

Second-Half Story:

Kentucky started the second half with Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein.

AU pulled within 13 points (57-44) before UK put the game away with a 14-0 run, making it 71-44.

Player Notes:

Willie Cauley-Stein had 18 points, a game-high seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
It is his first double-figure scoring game since Feb. 14 vs. South Carolina.
It is his most points since a career-high 21 vs. Texas on Feb. 5.

Andrew Harrison notched 15 points and added four assists. It is his 13th double-figure scoring game of the season.

Aaron Harrison scored 12 points, his team-leading 20th double-figure game of the season.

Trey Lyles scored 12 points, including 4 of 4 at the foul line. It is 10th time this season to land in double figure scoring.

Devin Booker tossed in 12 points, his 18th double-figure effort of the campaign. He also grabbed six rebounds, one shy of his career high.

Tyler Ulis totaled six points, five rebounds, a game-high six assists and two steals.
He has become more of a scoring presence recently, averaging 6.5 points over the last eight games. He has averaged 3.9 over the last eight games, leading UK in that category in five of the last six games.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored eight points, netting career highs with 8 of 8 at the foul line. 
Towns has averaged 13.1 points over the last seven games.


No comments:

Post a Comment