UK Picked To Win SEC Title; Three on All SEC Preseason Honor List

 Eleventh-year head coach John Calipari has often described Kentucky as the hunted within the ranks of the Southeastern Conference. With more regular-season and tournament titles than the entire league combined, it’s not a far-fetched mantra. If the 2019-20 preseason media poll conducted by the league’s media proves true, Kentucky will once again be the pursued.

UK was voted to win their sixth regular-season title under Calipari by the league’s media members. Should Kentucky achieve the feat, it would mark the program’s 49th overall regular-season title. 

It’s the 15th time since the 1998-99 season the Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite. Calipari has directed his teams to regular-season SEC crowns in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Kentucky has claimed the SEC Tournament title six times under his direction in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Each school selected media members that cover their team and additional media from across the nation were selected by the conference office to comprise the voting panel. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for two All-SEC teams.

In addition to the preseason poll, three players were selected to the preseason All-SEC squads. Sophomore guard Ashton Hagans was picked to the first team, while freshman guard Tyrese Maxey and sophomore forward EJ Montgomery were tabbed to the second team. Hagans also received at least one vote for the preseason pick for SEC Player of the Year.

Hagans is joined by Florida’s Kerry Blackshear, Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, Ole Miss’ Breein Tyree and Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry on the first team. Blackshear was the choice of the media for the preseason player of the year. Joining Maxey and Montgomery on the second team were Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr., Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe, Florida’s Andrew Nembhard, LSU’s Skylar Mays and Tennessee’s Lamonté Turner. 

Hagans shared the 2019 SEC Defensive Player of the Year award after inducing 61 steals during his freshman campaign and is considered one of the best on-ball defenders in college basketball. He is also UK’s leading returning scorer at 7.7 points per game. The 6-foot-3 guard was a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week award winner, was named to The Athletic’s All-Glue Team and was a Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist. 

He started in 30 of 37 games a season ago and tied Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third-most steals in program history. Included in that was a UK single-game record of eight swipes in a win over North Carolina in December, which matched Rajon Rondo and Wayne Turner’s output. He also dished out 160 assists on the season, ranked the fifth most by a UK freshman in school history. That mark includes an SEC Tournament-record 12 assists in the semifinals against Tennessee. 

The Cartersville, Georgia, native scored in double figures in 13 games and recorded a career-high 23 points in a win at Georgia in his return to his hometown state. He totaled 29 games with three or more assists and had 10 games with three or more steals.

Maxey begins his freshman campaign with the Wildcats as the No. 10 overall prospect by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. He was a Naismith High School Boys’ 2019 All-America Second Team selection. As a senior at South Garland High School, he averaged 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

The 6-foot-3 guard was tabbed Texas Mr. Basketball and was the Dallas-Fort Worth Area Player of the Year. He was a two-time All-State selection and was a 2019 McDonald’s All American. His success stretches beyond high school basketball as he also won a gold medal as a member of the U18 USA Team.

Montgomery elected to return for his sophomore season after considering a jump to the pro ranks following positive feedback from the NBA. He appeared in all 37 games for the Wildcats during his freshman season, including making 10 starts. He started in nine of UK’s final 11 games and the Wildcats were 9-1 during that stretch.

He’s UK’s leading returning rebounder at 4.1 boards per game. He also averaged 3.8 points per game and shot with a 48% rate from the field. His 38 blocks ranked third on the team and led the team in the category in 14 games. His best game of the season came with career highs in points (11) and rebounds (13) in a win over South Carolina. He also snared 11 boards in his NCAA Tournament debut against Abilene Christian. 

Kentucky is slated to begin exhibition play beginning with its annual Blue-White Game on Friday. That game will air live on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. UK will follow that with two tune-ups against Georgetown College on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. and Kentucky State on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Both games will air live on SEC Network. The Wildcats open the regular season in New York for the State Farm Champions Classic. They will face Michigan State at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. 

P.J. Washington Ends His Career At Kentucky And Will Enter The NBA Draft

 When PJ Washington decided to return to Kentucky a year ago, he cited a desire to become a more complete player and help the Wildcats compete for a championship.

Although the Wildcats fell a game short of their first Final Four since 2015, Washington fulfilled the goals he set out for in his sophomore season as he emerged as one of the best players in college basketball in helping Kentucky become a national title contender.

With his work complete at UK, Washington will now pursue a lifelong goal: to play in the NBA. Washington will submit his name for the 2019 NBA Draft and plans to remain among the potential draftees.

“It’s been a little over a week since our season ended but it still hasn’t hit me that I’ve played my last game with Kentucky across my chest,” Washington said. “This place has been my home for two years and it’s hard for me to put in words how much I’ve grown in my time at Kentucky. The staff challenged me from day one to become the best version of myself and to work hard to become one of the best players in college basketball. I feel like I’ve done that.

“When I decided to come back to school a year ago, I knew there were things I still wanted to accomplish so I challenged myself to become a better all-around player, to develop more consistency and to become a leader for this team. Although we fell a couple games short of our ultimate goal, I’ll never forget the season we had with my brothers. We did some special things this season and made memories that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.

“I want to thank God, Coach Cal and the staff with challenging me to become the player that I am. They believed in my potential and never accepted anything less than my best. Thank you helping me grow into a man that’s ready for this next step. To my teammates: Wow, we have been through so much. Thank you for putting your trust in me and for inspiring me through every workout, practice and game. I’ll never forget this group. And to everyone at UK: Thank you for your support and for helping a kid from Dallas see his dreams come true.”

Washington will end his career with 932 points, 475 rebounds 120 assists and 74 blocks, but his legacy will stretch far beyond his numbers or accolades. He racked up numerous All-American honors, including NCAA Consensus All-America Third Team selection, as he put the NBA on hold for a season to become a more complete player.

“I’m so proud of PJ and what he’s accomplished over the last two seasons,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “When he was in this position last year, he had to determine what was best for him. He looked at this and said, I want to come back and work on my game, to be coached, to become one of the best players in the game and to help us be one of those teams in the mix. And I told him, do not come back to school unless you’re going to drag your teammates with you. And boy did he ever.

“PJ transformed everything about his game. He became a national player of the year candidate, he showed his full set of his skills and he improved his stock while helping us become one of the best teams in the country. What I’m most proud of is how PJ developed into a leader. Every kid is on their own timetable, and the one that PJ followed – which was the best path for him – has put him in a position to do some special things at the next level. I can’t wait to watch his continued growth.”

Washington evolved into one of the nation’s most dominant players in his sophomore campaign. He produced career highs in virtually every statistical category in 2018-19, including leading the Wildcats in scoring (15.2 points per game), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and double-doubles (nine).

He was an absolute force in the second half of the season as he scored in double figures in 19 of his final 20 games and 25 overall. He suffered a sprained left foot in the second half of the Southeastern Conference Tournamentsemifinals against Tennessee on March 16 and did not play in UK’s opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but he returned to lead the Wildcats to their seventh Elite Eight appearance in 10 seasons under Calipari the following week.

Washington played 26 minutes and scored 16 points against Houston in the Sweet 16. He then gutted out 37 minutes and charted his ninth double-double of the season in an overtime loss to Auburn in the Elite Eight. Washington had 28 points, one shy of his career high, 13 boards, three assists, two blocks and two steals. He was named to the Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team for his efforts.

During his final 20-game stretch, he shot 53.1 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from 3-point range. That span also included three straight double-doubles vs. then-No. 9/10 Kansas, at Vanderbilt and at Florida.

For the season, Washington shot 52.2 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from 3-point range. A year after hitting just five 3s in 37 games at a 23.8-percent rate, he drained 33 this season.

Perhaps the truest indicator of Washington’s worth this season was his impressive play vs. Kentucky’s best competition. In the 11 games he played vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams, Washington averaged a team-high 17.2 points and added 6.8 rebounds while shooting 54.8 percent.

Washington was well-recognized for his accomplishments. He was tabbed a third-team All-America selection by the four NCAA-recognized All-America teams (Sporting News, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches and the AP), in addition to All-America honors from USA Today (Second Team), Sports Illustrated (Third Team) and the Basketball Times (Third Team).

He was also tabbed an All-SEC First Team pick, was one of five finalists for the Karl Malone Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top power forward in college basketball, appeared on the John R. Wooden Award national ballot, and was a Citizen Naismith Trophy semifinalist.

A full list of Washington’s 2018-19 honors are below:

·         NCAA Consensus All-America Third Team

·         Associated Press All-America Third Team

·         NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team

·         NABC All-America Third Team

·         NABC All-District 21 First Team

·         USBWA All-America Third Team

·         Sports Illustrated All-America Third Team

·         USA Today All-America Second Team

·         CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson All-America Team

·         All-SEC First Team (AP/Coaches)

·         All-SEC Freshman Team (Coaches)

·         Sporting News All-America Third Team

·         USBWA All-District IV Team

·         Karl Malone Award Finalist

·         Wooden Award Finalist

·         Naismith Citizen Trophy Semifinalist

·         Two-time SEC Player of the Week

·         Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week (Feb. 18)

The 2019 NBA Draft Combine will take place May 15-19 in Chicago, although it hasn’t been determined yet if Washington will participate. The 2019 NBA Draft is June 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

Since Calipari joined the Wildcat program for the 2009-10 season, UK has produced 35 NBA Draft picks over nine seasons, nearly twice as many as the next-closest school (Duke). Included in the 35 are 26 first-rounders, three No. 1 overall picks and 19 lottery selections.  

Ashton Hagans is Coming Back For a Second Year

 Ashton Hagans is coming back for year two.

Kentucky men’s basketball’s starting point guard in 2018-19 and one of the best defenders in the country announced Tuesday he will be returning to UK next season as a sophomore. 

“We had a great season this year but I want more,” Hagans said. “I know I’ve only scratched the surface with my game and there’s so much more I want to accomplish at Kentucky. Coach Cal and the staff have challenged me since day one, and I know with another season at UK we can chase some special things with the same mindset. I can’t wait to get back to work with my brothers.”

With several decisions still looming from Kentucky’s 2018-19 roster, Hagans’ return will definitely bolster what should be another strong team in 2019-20. Hagans led the Wildcats in assists (160) and steals (61) as a freshman while starting in 30 of 37 games.

“I had a great meeting with Ashton,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “He had a wonderful season but he’s not satisfied. He said his desire was to come back and continue to grow and do some special things at Kentucky. That’s all I needed to hear. He’s ready for the challenge, and I’m all in with him.”

Hagans became one of the Wildcats’ most impactful players late in the nonconference season with suffocating defense. Embracing his role as a defensive stopper, he tied the school record with eight steals vs. No. 9/10 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic (previously set by Wayne Turner on Nov. 24, 1997, vs. George Washington and Rajon Rondo on Feb. 19, 2005, vs. Mississippi State).

After the game, UNC head coach and Hall of Famer Roy Williams said of Hagans’ defense: "Ashton Hagans is 2 for 6, seven points, and I thought in some ways he was more dominating in the game than anybody."

The breakout performance would spark a dominating defensive stretch that transformed Kentucky into a national contender.

Starting with that UNC game, Hagans corralled at least three steals in seven straight games to become the only player in school history with such a streak (since steals became an official NCAA statistic in 1985-86). According to STATS, he was the first major-conference freshman with three or more steals in seven or more straight games since Wake Forest's Chris Paul did it 10 straight games in the 2003-04 season.

Hagans finished the season with 61 steals, tied with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third-most steals by a freshman in school history. His 1.6 steals per game ranked eighth in the Southeastern Conference.

Hagans’ work on the defensive side of the ball earned him SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors alongside LSU’s Tremont Waters. He was also tabbed to the SEC All-Defensive Team, the CollegeInsider.com Kyle Macy Freshman All-America Team, the CollegeInsider.com Lefty Drisell Defensive All-America Team and the Athletic’s All-Glue Team. He was a Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year finalist and twice won SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

As Hagans' defensive stock went on the rise, his offensive numbers followed. He scored seven or more points in 20 of the last 31 games, including back-to-back-to-back career-high scoring days vs. Louisville (11), Alabama (12) and Texas A&M (18), followed by a 15-point effort vs. Vanderbilt. Hagans then topped it with a career-high 23-point effort in his homecoming on the road at Georgia. He scored in double figures in seven of the last 12 games, including twice in the NCAA Tournament, and finished with a 7.7 scoring average.

Hagans’ improving shot was on display at the end of the season. He made nine 3-pointers over the final 12 games after making five in the prior 25.

In addition to his scoring output, he led the Cats with 4.3 assists per game, which ranked seventh in the SEC. His 160 assists tied for the fifth most in a single season by a UK freshman in program history. Against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals, he dished out a career-high 12 assists, which also ranked as the most ever in a tournament game in program history. 

Box-Score From Kentucky's First Round Win Over Abilene Christian

Kentucky Earns Record 58th NCAA Tournament appearance With 2 Seed in the Mid-West

The University of Kentucky men's basketball team extended its national record for most NCAA Tournament appearances to 58 on Sunday, as the team was selected as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. The Wildcats will play Abilene Christian, the region’s No. 15 seed, on Thursday, in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
This is the seventh time in program history Kentucky has earned a No. 2 seed in the annual event. Most recently, the Cats participated as the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, falling 75-73 to eventual national champion No. 1 North Carolina in the regional final after defeating the Tar Heels 103-100 in the regular season.
 
The Wildcats finished the 2018-19 regular season winning six of seven to cap off a 15-3 Southeastern Conference slate and a share of second place in the league standings. UK’s 27-6 overall record entering the NCAA Tournament includes winning streaks of 10, seven and four games.
 
Kentucky is 47-10 in NCAA Tournament openers and has won 24 of its last 25 opening-round games. The Cats own a 126-51 all-time record in NCAA action, with their .712 winning percentage the fifth-best in NCAA history. UK is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Kentucky is set for its first all-time matchup with Abilene Christian. ACU is coming off a 77-60 win over New Orleans in the championship of the Southland Conference Tournament on Saturday. Abilene Christian will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after making the jump to Division I in 2013-14. ACU is 27-6 on the year and has won eight of its last nine games. Abilene Christian is averaging 74.4 points per game this season and is paced by senior forward Jaren Lewis, who is averaging 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
With a win over Abilene Christian, Kentucky would face the winner of the No. 7 Wofford (29-4) and No. 10 Seton Hall (20-13). UK has never faced Wofford, while the Wildcats and Pirates met in December at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Seton Hall claimed an 84-83 decision in overtime for a 2-1 lead in the all-time head-to-head series. 
 
Tickets for the first and second round games in Jacksonville can be purchased by visiting NCAA.com/MBBTickets. Fans will find complete ticket information for all NCAA sites, including information on the NCAA Ticket Exchange (NCAA.com/Exchange), the official secondary marketplace for authentic NCAA Tournament tickets. Preliminary student ticket information is posted online at UKStudentTix.com and will be updated with specifics later this evening.

Calipari's Thought's On Selection Sunday

UK Head Coach John Calipari

On how the NCAA Tournament draw turned out…

“It’s fine. I mean I thought that there was a chance we play in Louisville. I thought it was slim, but it was none. None! Not happening, but that’s fine. I mean this thing has a lot of good teams. The teams in our little corner of the bracket, one beat us, the other team is the team you knew. Then, Abilene Christian I don’t know much about, but if they are in my guess is that they shoot 3s. Which means if they make 20, we lose in the first round. I mean at this time of the year it’s one and done. Look, we’ve used the year to prepare these kids for this tournament and the stuff that we just went through where you have your chances, a couple of things happen out of your control, a couple of things happen in your control. Then all of the sudden, you drop a game. What a great lesson going in. I remember 2012, we were up with four to five minutes to go, and then we let go of the rope and lost. That was the best thing that happened in 2012. So, we’ll see.”

On if Kentucky was the No. 1 seed playing the No. 2 seed Duke in Charlotte…

“Well, when I was at Memphis, we played Texas A&M in Houston and then we played Texas in San Antonio and we were the higher seed. It happens against me.”

On the thought of playing Kansas in Kansas City…

“I haven’t even looked so I don’t know, you’re telling me stuff. Look, every team right now, it’s who’s hot, who’s fresh. You have some teams that are beat up a little bit. You are just trying to survive game after game. These kids are so young, I told them to stop watching games because you don’t need anything other than what you have at hand. You have to have that free mind and any anxiety you have watching games is stupid and wasted. Teams that you may think you will play end up getting beat. Stay in the moment. Last year we had a heck of a run, the year before we had a heck of a run. Both games we had a chance of winning and advancing. It came down to the last play or two. The way Nick (Richards) and EJ (Montgomery) played in the first half, first half! Immanuel (Quickley) has gotten better. Jamarl (Baker Jr.) didn’t have a chance, but I told him you’re going to have a chance in this tournament. The main reason is; I know I can put him in because he can defend. He’s engaged with our team defensively. I said you get in the game and do something. It’s crazy, all of the sudden people will be talking about you. But, you need to be ready.”

On if the team learned a lesson from the loss to Tennessee…

“Hopefully Reid (Travis) doesn’t get three tough foul calls. All three of them were really tough foul calls which took him out of the game. He would’ve been in that game and I imagine he would’ve got that ball. But it’s the other guys, like you’ve got to fight. It’s a dog fight and you have to give them credit. They kept giving him foul shots, but guess what? They kept making them. Then that kid makes the corner three, (Grant) Williams, it shows how mentally tough he is, not just physically. Throwing his body, flopping all over the place, getting fouls called, charges were blocks but it didn’t matter because he made foul shots and he made that three in the corner. We had a couple of turnovers that were, you know. I even told them when I look at the stats, I can’t believe we lost that game. I’ll watch the tape but if you look at the stat line, how in the world did we lose that? And until you had a charge called, a walk called, a step out of bounds… who stepped out? Did our guys step out, did their guy step out? Those three turnovers put us at 11, we had eight turnovers against that team? Come on.  That’s why I said I feel good going in, let’s go let’s play the games. Not even unhappy we’re playing on Thursday because we didn’t play this afternoon so let’s play on Thursday. “

On playing a team “on edge”… 

“Everybody’s going to have an edge. Everybody’s playing for their life and survival. Can a team go back to their training? You can’t play up to the tournament. You know why? Because you can do that in 15 minutes. You can’t play up to the opponent because you can do that for 15 minutes. You have to play to your training, you play to your conditioning. And that you can do for 40 minutes and if you can play for 40 minutes, you’ll have a chance to win every game you play. You may not win them all because there’s so many other factors that are involved in it, but you put yourself in the best position to win if you can play if your team can play 40 the way they are capable of playing it. “

On your reaction to North Carolina being the third No. 1 seed from the ACC….

“I mean, it is what it is. That’s how they felt. It is what it is.”

On Tennessee getting the spot in Louisville…

“I’ll call him and say I’ve had to do that a few times and as a matter of fact, against you when he was at Texas.”

On if you have watched any North Carolina games this year…

“I haven’t watched them since we played. Guys look, I watch The Last Frontier, Life Below Zero, anybody watch those? The whole time I’m telling my wife I can do that. She’s like, psshh you can’t do that. Building Off The Grid, anybody watch that? I’m giving you stuff to help your culture. No, I didn’t watch the Top Chef, even that episode I haven’t. I don’t have time for that. So, I’m not watching other teams. I get to watch my own team and I get to watch the opponents we’re playing. I’d like to have a life so I may turn on a game for five minutes and I watch it. I think I watched the Duke vs. North Carolina game for about three minutes in the first half. North Carolina, I think I was like wow and then they told me what the score was, and I said how in the world did that happen. North Carolina’s playing good. The point guard’s playing good. They’re good. I’m not worried about them, we have to get through Abilene Christian. That’s all I’m worried about right now.”

On being excited about Belmont getting a bid…

“Yeah Rick Byrd and I are good friends. Coach Byrd, they let us use their gym again and we talked about it. I told him with what you’ve done, you deserve to be in this thing, you should be at large and then what happens is all of a sudden, all these bubble teams start popping up and if you’re Belmont, you’re like what did this do. They deserve to be in it, and who wants to play them? I mean go ahead, they’re going to take 30 3’s and run their stuff and execute. I don’t want to play them either. That’s not a good one to play.”

On how do you get freshman to play to their training…

“It’s hard, but you just talk about it. I was in huddles just saying play to the training, how do we make that play? What kind of play are we making there? We’ve done it a thousand times, play to the training, don’t do what you want to do, don’t do what you did in high school, it does not work here. And, that is where your coaching comes in. You take a guy out and coach him immediately. Is that the training, is that what you know? You ask, well why would you do that? You can’t be in on that. Then you put them back in and they understand that. It’s a process when you have young guys. “

On is it easy to spot when players aren’t playing to their training… 

“No. A lot of times it’s as the game goes on and they get a little tired. I even said we kind of rode Ashton (Hagans) and now he gets tired that last minute-and-a-half or two minutes. So, we rode him and went high, pick and roll so it was like uh oh they can’t guard, well that was him. “

Notes From Kentucky's Win Over Alabama

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. ALABAMA

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT | BRIDGESTONE ARENA | NASHVILLE, TENN.

MARCH 15, 2019
ATTENDANCE: TBA

Final Score: No. 4 Kentucky 73, Alabama 55

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 27-5 overall and has won three in a row. Alabama is 18-15. 
• Kentucky leads the series 113-38.  In the regular season, Alabama won 77-75 in Tuscaloosa.
• Kentucky advances to the SEC Tournament semifinals vs. Tennessee or Mississippi State. Saturday’s semi is at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. CDT in Nashville). The game will be televised on ESPN.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started the combination of Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and EJ Montgomery for the fourth time. UK is 4-0 with this lineup.
• Tied at 9, Kentucky stormed an 11-0 run over five straight possessions – taking only 1:15 off the clock – for a 20-9 lead.  
• Following an Alabama basket, UK surged six more points for a total run of 17-2 and a 26-11 lead.
• Sparked by nine blocked shots – already a season high – and limiting Alabama to 31 percent shooting, Kentucky took a 39-29 lead into halftime

In the Second Half

• Kentucky opened with the second half with Hagans, Herro, Johnson, Washington and Reid Travis.
• Alabama got the first basket of the half, cutting the deficit to eight at 39-31, but the Crimson Tide got no closer. 
• Kentucky largest lead was the final score at 73-55.

Team Notes

• UK held Alabama to 55 points.  UK is a perfect 73-0 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent to 55 points of fewer, including 9-0 this season.
• UK limited Alabama to 30.4 percent shooting.  UK is 179-15 (.923) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 15-0 this season.
• Kentucky blocked a season-high 11 shots, nine of which came in the first half. 
• Kentucky led the rebounding 42-32, a major difference from the first time these teams met, when Alabama won the rebounding by eight.
• In addition to winning the rebounding, UK also led the points in the paint, 34-18.
• UK led by as many as 18 points tonight.  UK is 257-5 (.981) during the Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. 

In the SEC Tournament

• Kentucky has an all-time record of 134-25 in the SEC Tournament, and has won 13 in a row, including the last four championships.
• UK is 45-11 in quarterfinals games.
• UK leads Alabama 17-2 in SEC Tournament games, including 6-1 in quarterfinals games.
• This is the fourth year in a row that the teams met in the SEC Tournament, with UK defeating Alabama in the 2016 quarterfinals, 2017 semifinals and 2018 and ’19 quarters.
• Coach Calipari is 23-3 in the SEC Tournament.

Looking Ahead to Saturday

• UK is 42-2 in SEC Tournament semifinal games. This marks UK’s sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals.
• UK leads the Tennessee series, 155-72. 
• On February 16, UK won 86-69 in Lexington. 
• On March 2, Tennessee won 71-52 in Knoxville. 
• UK is 12-4 vs. Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, including 5-1 in semifinal games.
• UK leads the Mississippi State series, 97-20, and has won 13 in a row.
• On January 22, UK won 76-55 in Lexington.
• On February 9, UK won 71-67 in Starkville.
• UK is 8-2 vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, including 1-0 in semifinal games.
  

Player Notes  

• Tyler Herro led all scorers with 20 points, his sixth 20-point game of the season and his third 20-point output in the last five games.  
• UK is 18-0 this season when he scores at least 15.
• He made 2-of-2 free throws and has made 62 of his last 63 at the charity stripe.
• PJ Washington had a stat-stuffer game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
• It is his eighth double-double of the season.   
• The four blocks tied his career high, now accomplished six times.
• Ashton Hagans had two points, adding six rebounds and a game-high six assists. 
• Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points, making all four field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.
• The three 3s tied his career high.
• UK is 6-0 this season when he scores in double figures.
• Reid Travis returned after a five-game absence because of a sprained knee.  Playing 23 minutes, he totaled eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 302-69 at UK.  
• Calipari has a 747-209 all-time on-court record.
• UK is 245-40 vs. unranked competition under Calipari, and has won the last 13 in a row.