Saturday, January 21, 2017

Some Notes From Kentucky's 85-69 Win Over South Carolina

Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
South Carolina at Kentucky, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
January 21, 2017
Attendance: 24,389

Final Score: No. 5/5 Kentucky 85, No. 24/24 South Carolina 69
Team Records and Series Notes
  • Kentucky is 17-2 overall, 7-0 in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina is 15-4 overall, 5-1 in league action.  
  • This is the third time in Coach John Calipari’s eight seasons at UK that the Wildcats have been spotless through their first seven league games. 
  • Kentucky leads the series 51-11, including 27-2 in Lexington.  
  • Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play at Tennessee on Tuesday at 9 p.m.  The game will be televised on ESPN. 

In the First Half
  • Kentucky started the lineup of Isaiah Briscoe, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Wenyen Gabriel and Bam Adebayo for the 13th time this season.  UK is 11-2 with this lineup.
  • Kentucky scored the first seven points of the game, including a 3-pointer by Gabriel, extending Kentucky’s streak of 3-pointers to 994 consecutive games.
  • Monk and Gabriel followed with 3-pointers, giving UK a 13-3 lead.
  • At that point, Fox took control with three driving layups to make it 19-6.
  • With a dunk and layup, the score went to 23-6, prompting a South Carolina timeout at 11:26. It was UK’s largest lead of the half.
  • When Derek Willis swished a baseline jumper with 9:48 remaining, it was UK’s first basket that wasn’t a 3-pointer or dunk/layup.
  • Fox left the game with 8:50 on the clock because of a sprained right ankle and did not return. 
  • Trailing 30-15, South Carolina went on a 12-0 run to get the game within 30-27. Ten of the points came after forcing UK turnovers.
  • After UK went scoreless for more than three minutes, Willis steadied the Wildcat ship with a three-pointer with 4:22 on the clock.
  • After UK built the lead back up to 47-33, SC’s Sindarius Thornwell scored five points in the final minute, capping his magnificent 20-point showing in the first half. (Thornwell finished with a game-high 34 points.)

In the Second Half
  • After South Carolina closed within 48-44 early in the second half, Monk and Willis supplied a 7-0 run to put the cushion back to 11 points.
  • South Carolina got no closer than eight points the rest of the way (62-54) as the Wildcats gradually pulled away in the final 10 minutes.
  • Kentucky led by as many as 23 points at 85-62.

Team Notes
  • Kentucky shot 58.3 percent from the field. It is the 14th time this season and seventh game in a row that the Wildcats have hit at least half their shots.
    • It is the longest streak for the Wildcats since the 1983-84 Wildcats had eight straight games of 50 percent or better.
  • Kentucky’s 85 points is the most scored this season against South Carolina. UK was just the third foe to reach 70 vs. the Gamecocks.
  • Calipari has a 679-189 (.782) on-court record, including a 234-49 (.827) mark at UK.
  • Kentucky has an all-time mark of 556-65 (.895) in Rupp Arena.  
    • UK is 129-5 (.963) at Rupp Arena under John Calipari.

Player Notes  
  • Freshman Malik Monk paced the Wildcats with 27 points, including 4 of 7 on 3-point shots.
    • This was his 11th 20-point game of the season.
    • He continued his streak of double-figure scoring in every game this season. 
    • It is his eighth game this season that he has made at least four 3-pointers.
  • Freshman Bam Adebayo notched 18 points, making 5 of 6 from the field.
    • Adebayo has now made 14 of 17 field goal attempts (.824) over the last four games
  • Playing a season-high 29 minutes, senior Derek Willis came off the bench to contribute 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
  • Freshman De’Aaron Fox made all three of his field goal attempts before leaving the game with only eight minutes played. He sustained a sprained right ankle.  
  • Freshman Wenyen Gabriel tallied 11 points, making three 3-pointers for the second game in a row.
    • He has averaged 10 points and 9.7 rebounds over the last three games.
  • Playing 10 minutes, sophomore Isaac Humphries contributed six points and four rebounds.  He has scored at least four points in five of the last six games.
  • Senior Dominique Hawkins had five points and a game-high seven assists while playing 28 minutes.
    • The assists and minutes were his second most of the season, only behind the nine assists in 32 minutes vs. UT Martin.
  • Senior Mychal Mulder missed the game because of illness.


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