Big Blue Corner: Here's Some Notes From Last Nights Win Over Stephen F. Austin

Kentucky Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes

Stephen F. Austin at No. 2/4 Kentucky

Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 11, 2016
Attendance: 22,683

FINAL SCORE: No. 2/4 Kentucky 87, Stephen F. Austin 64

Team Records and Series Notes

With the win in the season lidlifter, Kentucky is 1-0 and Stephen F. Austin is 0-1
The meeting between the two teams was the first in the series
Kentucky will return to action on Sunday, hosting Canisius at 6 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and will be available on the radio on the UK Sports Radio Network

Team Notes

With 2,206 all-time wins, Kentucky is the nation’s leader
Kentucky is 95-19 all-time in season openers, including an 8-0 record under John Calipari
Calipari has a 621-185 all-time on-court record, including a 218-47 mark at UK
UK has a 547-64 all-time record at historic Rupp Arena

The Wildcats have made a 3-pointer in 976 consecutive games, the longest streak in the nation
Kentucky opened with the lineup of Bam Adebayo, Isaiah Briscoe, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Derek Wills
The Wildcats were outrebounded by a 36-28 margin but won points in the paint (38-28) and points off turnovers (32-14)
Kentucky shot 50 percent from the floor, connecting on 31 of 62 shots
Nine Wildcats scored in the game, including five who reached double-figures
UK shared the ball well, assisting 21 times on 31 made field goals

First-Half Facts

Kentucky led 48-32 at the break, shooting 50 percent from the field
The Lumberjacks took a 3-2 lead, but Kentucky rebounded immediately with a traditional 3-point play from Willis to take a lead it would not yield the remainder of the half
UK took its largest lead of the half with 16-point advantage at the break when Dominique Hawkins connected with Wenyen Gabriel for a dunk with one second on the clock

Second Half Story

A 3-pointer by Willis at the 14:12 mark of the second half pushed UK’s lead to 25 points
The margin stretched to 27 points with 4:58 remaining with an Adebayo free throw
The Wildcats remained consistent, connecting on 50 percent of its shots from the field in the second half – the same clip as in the opening 20 minutes

Player Notes

Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe led the team in scoring with 17 points. He added a pair of assists

Freshman De’Aaron Fox registered a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists. He also opened the 2016-17 season scoring with a pair of free throws with less than a minute played in the game

Fox’s 12 assists set a new standard for a season opener (with assist records dating back to the 1971-72 season), breaking Dirk Minnefield’s mark of 11 vs. Butler on Nov. 27, 1982
It’s also the most assists in a Kentucky debut, topping Kyle Macy’s record of 10 vs. Southern Miss on Nov. 26, 1977. Assist records began being kept in the 1971-72 season
Fox joins four Wildcats under John Calipari to debut with a double-double – and the first in a points-assists variety. Terrence Jones, Julius Randle and Briscoe were the others
UK’s freshman point guard also had a team-high three steals

Freshman Wenyen Gabriel connected on his first five shot attempts for 10 first-half points.
Sophomore Isaac Humphries had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds

Humphries also added a team-high and career-best three steals, while also swatting a team-best three blocked shots

Senior Mychal Mulder drained a 3-pointer with 6:32 remaining in the first half to extend UK’s nation-leading total games with a made 3-pointer

Senior Derek Willis, who a season ago began his junior year with a then career-high 14 points, tallied 15 total points on opening night

He reached double-digits less than five minutes into the game. The scoring splurge was highlighted be a pair of traditional 3-point plays
Tied Humphries for the most blocks with three
It was the 12th time in his career he reached double-figure scoring

Sophomore Tai Wynyard and freshman Brad Calipari made their collegiate debuts

Saturday, November 12, 2016