Some Kentucky vs. Arizona State Game Notes

Final Score: Kentucky 72, Arizona State 58

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 9-1 on the season and has won two in a row. Arizona State is now 6-3.
• Kentucky leads the series 4-0. 
• After final examinations this week, Kentucky returns to action Saturday, Dec. 19, against Ohio State at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The game will be televised by CBS as part of the CBS Sports Classic with game time slated for 3:30 p.m.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started with the lineup of Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe, Jamal Murray, Alex Poythress and Skal Labissiere for the second game in a row.
• UK grabbed the lead at 7-6 and never trailed again, although ASU did tie the game later in the first half.  
• Poythress increased the lead to 10-6, bringing the fans to their feet with a dunk-and-one at the 15:02 mark.
• However, after totaling seven points and two rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the game, Poythress exited with a hyperextended knee and did not return until the beginning of the second half.
• Ulis extended the gap to 19-12 at the 9:16 when he swished a 3-pointer, extending UK’s streak of 949 consecutive games with a triple.
• The visitors kept it close the remainder of the first half and hit a 3-pointer just before the end of the period to narrow the score to 32-31 at intermission.

In the Second Half

• After a scoreless first half, Isaiah Briscoe scored nine straight UK points early in the second half, developing the lead to 44-38.
• Ahead 49-43, UK went on a 7-0 run to give the Wildcats the first double-digit lead of the game at 56-43.
• Leading 61-48, UK put the game away with a 10-0 run, giving the Cats the largest margin of the game at 71-48.

Team Notes

• With 2,187 all-time wins, Kentucky is the nation’s leader in that category. 

• Coach John Calipari has a 644-179 (.783) all-time record, including a 199-39 (.836) mark at Kentucky.  
• Calipari is 109-4 (.965) in Rupp Arena, including 61-1 (.984) against non-conference opponents.
• UK is now 123-5 (.961) under Calipari when holding the opponent to 63 or fewer points, including 7-0 this season.
• UK extended its streak of 27 straight wins in Rupp Arena.  
• UK has won 13 straight home games by at least 11 points, the longest such streak since a 27-game stretch from 1995-97.
• Arizona State shot 37.1 percent from the field. UK has held the last 52 home opponents, and the last 80 non-conference home opponents, under 50 percent from the field.
• UK has scored at least 72 points in its first 10 games of the season for the first time in 20 years, since the 1995-96 season.
• Kentucky has won its last 75 games in Rupp Arena when ranked in the top five of The Associated Press poll, dating back to the 2003-04 season.

Player Notes  

• Despite missing much of the game with an injury, senior Alex Poythress totaled 10 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
• Freshman Jamal Murray notched game-high 17 points, his eighth-consecutive double-figure game. He also added five assists.
• He became the first player in Kentucky history to hit at least one 3-pointer in each of his first 10 games as a Wildcat.  
• Twelve of his points came in the second half.
• Junior Marcus Lee came off the bench to corral 14 points and lead UK in rebounding with seven.
• After shooting 6 of 8 field goals today, Lee has made 11 of 13 (.846) shots in the last two games.
• Sophomore Tyler Ulis accumulated 12 points and a game-high six assists.  
• All six of the assists came in the second half.