Notes From Kentucky's Loss To Texas A&M

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY AT TEXAS A&M

REED ARENA | COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

FEB. 10, 2018ATTENDANCE: 13,263

Final Score: #24/24 Kentucky 74, Texas A&M 85

                                                         

Team Records and Series Notes

·        Kentucky is 17-8 overall and 6-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M is 17-8, 6-6 in league play. 

·        Kentucky leads the series 9-4, including 3-2 in College Station.

·        Next for the Wildcats: Kentucky plays Wednesday at Auburn. Game time is 9 p.m. EST (8 p.m. CST in Auburn) and it will be televised by ESPN2.

In the First Half

·        Kentucky’s starting lineup featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, PJ Washington, Kevin Knoxand Nick Richards for the 11th time this season. UK is 6-5 with this lineup.

·        Kentucky extended its streak of 1,038 consecutive games with a 3-pointer when Knox connected with 17:33 on the clock in the opening half.

·        Gilgeous-Alexander scored the opening basket for Kentucky 1:27 into the game.

·        Kentucky missed its last nine field goals and was scoreless from 16:29-11:18. During this 5:11 stretch, TAMU went on a 7-0 run to lead 12-8.

·        UK dropped to a zone and held TAMU without a point for from 10:36-7:50. TAMU answered with a 6-0 run.

·        Brad Calipari checked in with 6:36 left. It was his first action since Jan. 16 at South Carolina.

·        Knox scored in double figures for the eighth time in an opening half this season.

·        Kentucky ended the first half on an 8-0 run to lead 30-26 which is the first time UK has lead at halftime since Jan. 23 vs. Mississippi State.

·        Kentucky is now 11-3 when leading at the half.

In the Second Half

·        Texas A&M opened the second half on a 17-2 run forcing Kentucky to call a timeout at 16:16.

·        UK held Texas A&M to 26 points in the first half, but the Aggies matched that by the 12:48 mark of the second half.

·        TAMU shot 66.7 percent in the second half and was 7 of 9 on 3-pointers.

·        Kentucky went on an 8-0 run from 3:49-0:56 to cut the deficit to eight, but would get no closer.

·        Gilgeous-Alexander and Diallo scored 13 points in the second half.

Team Notes

·        UK is now 3-3 this season in games decided by three points or less.

·        UK is 42-11 in “bounce back” games (following losses) under John Calipari.

·        This is the first time that Kentucky has lost three games in a row under Calipari.

·        Kentucky allowed 40 rebounds, which tied the most allowed this season. Last time was on Jan. 16 at South Carolina.

·        UK allowed 59 points in the second half, which is the most this season.

Player Notes

·        Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 19 points, three rebounds and eight assists. 

·        Alexander has averaged 19.75 points over the last four games.

·        It is the 10th time this season he has had at least six assists, including the fifth time in the last seven games.

·        Kevin Knox had 18 points, his 19th double-figure game of the season.

·        PJ Washington had five points and led the Wildcats in rebounding with eight.

·        Hamidou Diallo scored 13 points which all came in the second half. It was his 14th double-figure game of the season.

Coach John Calipari

·        Calipari has a 711-201 all-time on-court record.

·        Calipari is now 266-61 at Kentucky.

·        Calipari is 8-3 vs. Texas A&M in his career.

Kevin Knox On Julius Erving 10 Player Mid Season List

Kentucky freshman forward Kevin Knox is among the 10 players on the Julius Erving midseason list, announced Wednesday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Erving Award is in its fourth year and is presented to the top small forward in college basketball.

Knox is looking to become the first winner of the award in school history.

In March, five finalists will be presented to the award’s namesake and the Hall of Fame selection committee. The winner of the 2018 Julius Erving Award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles on April 6. Players do not have to be on the watch list to win the award until the five finalists are announced. The Hall of Fame announced its original list in October.

The three previous winners of the award include Villanova’s Josh Hart (2017), Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine (2016) and Arizona’s Stanley Johnson (2015).

Knox, a freshman from Tampa, Florida, leads the Wildcats in scoring at 14.9 points per game. He’s reached double-figure scoring in 18 games this season, highlighted by a 34-point output on the road at No. 7 West Virginia to lead UK to a thrilling and historic comeback victory. 

The 6-foot-9 forward has a team-high six games of 20 or more points, while also leading the team in rebounding on six occasions. He’s also leads the team with 134 rebounds on the year for an average of 5.6 per game. Knox has also put together a team-high two double-doubles on the year and has drained a team-high 36 3-pointers.

Knox is shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from 3-point range and 75.2 percent from the charity stipe. In games in which UK has won this season he is averaging 16.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. 

The Erving Award is named after Julius Erving, who attended the University of Massachusetts and averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, making him one of only six NCAA men’s basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. After two seasons, Erving made the jump to the American Basketball Association and was the league’s most recognizable player when it merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976. During his professional career, Erving won three championships, four most valuable player awards and three scoring titles. In 1996, he was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

The Wildcats are back in action when they travel to Texas A&M on Saturday. The game is set to air live on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Notes From Kentucky's 61-59 Loss To Tennessee

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY 

RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.

FEB. 6, 2018
ATTENDANCE: 23,332

Final Score: #15/14 Tennessee 61, #24/24 Kentucky 59

                                                          

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 17-7 overall and 6-5 in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee is 18-5, 8-3 in league play.  
• Kentucky leads the series 153-71, including 92-17 in Lexington. 
• Next for the Wildcats: Kentucky plays Saturday at Texas A&M. Game time is 8:15 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST in College Station) and it will be televised by ESPN.

In the First Half

• Kentucky’s starting lineup featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, PJ Washington, Kevin Knox and Nick Richards for the 10^th time this season. UK is 6-4 with this lineup.
• Kentucky extended its streak of 1,037 consecutive games with a 3-pointer when Quade Green connected with 16:10 on the clock. 
• It was UK’s only field goal of the first nine minutes of the game, but made foul shots and energetic defense kept the Wildcats in the contest.
• UK’s next basket also was a 3-pointer by Green and puts the Cats ahead 11-9 at the 10:46 mark.
• UK’s first two-point field goal of the game was a dunk by Vanderbilt with 5:09 on the clock.
• After making just two of the first 14 shots, Vanderbilt’s dunk began a streak of four straight made field goals.  
• Tennessee got hot late in the half and went to intermission ahead 27-26.  
• Green led the Wildcats with 10 points, the fourth time this season he has been at double figures in the first half.
• UK is 6-5 this season when behind or tied at halftime. This was UK’s fourth straight game to trail at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Tied at 46, Tennessee went on a 4-0 run to lead 50-46. 
• It was the only time in the entire game that either team led by more than three points.
• Kentucky responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Knox steal and driving basket-and-one, to put the Cats back ahead 53-50.  
• Tied at 56, Gilgeous-Alexander worked his way into the lane and swished a jumper with 1:28 left.
• Tennessee came back with a 3-pointer by Lamonte Turner and a breakaway dunk by Admiral Schofield to go ahead 61-58.
• Tennessee fouled with 1.3 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander made the first but Tennessee claimed the rebound on the second to hold on to the 61-59 win.

Team Notes

• UK is now 3-2 this season in games decided by three points or less.
• Tennessee shot 23.8 percent from three-point range today, 5 of 21.  UK entered the game third in the nation in 3-point defense at 28.9 percent. 
• UK is 42-10 in “bounce back” games (following losses) under Coach John Calipari.
• UK is 51-25 under Calipari in games vs. opponents in The Associated Press top 25.
• Kentucky is 150-6 under Calipari when limiting the opponent to 63 or fewer points.
• UK had not lost when holding the opponent to 63 or less since the 2014 NCAA championship game vs. Connecticut. 
• Over the last four seasons, the Wildcats had won 60 in a row when keeping the opponent to 63 or less. 

Player Notes  

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.  
• Alexander has averaged 20 points over the last three games.
• His six rebounds is one shy of his career high.
• It is the ninth time this season he has had at least six assists, including the fourth time in the last six games. 
• It is the third time this season he has played 39 minutes in a game.
• Quade Green had his best game since returning from injury six games ago. He tallied 15 points tonight, his most since getting 15 vs. Georgia on Dec. 31.
• Kevin Knox had 10 points, his 18^th double-figure game of the season.
• Nick Richards had five points and led the Wildcats in rebounding with eight. 

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has a 711-200 all-time on-court record.
• Calipari is now 266-60 at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 147-8 at Rupp Arena.
• Calipari is 14-94 vs. Tennessee in his career.