Final OFFICIAL Box-Score from Kentucky's IMPRESSIVE 87-52 Win Over Vandy

FINAL Box-Score From Kentucky's 71-63 Win Over Kansas

Notes From Kentucky's 76-55 Win Over Miss State

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE

RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.

JAN. 22, 2019
ATTENDANCE: 21,449

Final Score: #8/9 Kentucky 76, #22 Mississippi State 55

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky won its fifth in a row and is 15-3 overall, 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State is 14-4, 2-3 in the SEC.
• Kentucky leads the series 96-20 but has a slim 5-4 lead when both teams are ranked.
• UK has won 12 in a row overall vs. the Bulldogs. 
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play their final nonconference game of the regular season Saturday by hosting Kansas at 6 p.m.  The game will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.  
• Rupp Arena will be the site for the popular ESPN College GameDay Show on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. Gates open at 9 a.m.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Reid Travis for the 11th time this season. UK is now 8-3 with that lineup.
• After Mississippi State tallied two baskets, UK got 10 straight points, including seven from Johnson. 
• Moments later, an 8-0 run made it 18-6 in favor of the Wildcats. It was an 18-2 run overall after the early 4-0 hole. 
• UK had its largest lead of the half at 20-7.
• MSU rallied within 28-22 before UK went to halftime with a 34-26 advantage. 
• On the strength of three 3-pointers, Herro led all scorers in the first half with 11 points. 

In the Second Half

• After a UK basket to make the lead 10, Mississippi State steadily whittled away and pulled within two at 41-39.
• Nick Richards made the front end of a 1-and-1, then took a nifty dish from Herro for a dunk, starting a 16-4 run to make it 57-43.
• Ahead 64-53, UK finished the game with a 12-2 run.   
• All totaled, after MSU had pulled within two points, UK finished the game on a 35-16 spurt. 

Team Notes

• Mississippi State totaled a season-low 55 points. UK is 68-0 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent at 55 points or less, including 4-0 this season.
• Mississippi State shot only 31.1 percent from the field. UK is 171-15 (.918) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 7-0 this season.
• Kentucky is 3-1 vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams this season, including consecutive victories over Auburn and Mississippi State.  UK will have a chance for wins vs. ranked opponents in three consecutive games when the Wildcats play host to No. 9/10 Kansas on Saturday.  
• This was the first time UK had defeated AP Top 25 opponents in consecutive games (with no game in between) since the 2015 NCAA Midwest Regional.  
• UK’s 21-point margin of victory is the most vs a ranked opponent since dispatching No. 13 Michigan State, 69-48, on Nov. 15, 2016.
• UK improved to 248-5 (.980) under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at any point in the game. 
• UK has won 14 in a row at Rupp Arena, including 11-0 this season. 

Player Notes  

• PJ Washington led all scorers with 21 points, most for him since the Seton Hall game. 
• He also contributed six rebounds and tied his career best for blocked shots with four.
• It’s the fifth time this season he’s led UK in scoring. 
• It’s the third 20-point game of the season, fifth career.
• He made three 3-pointers, one off his career high.  
• Tyler Herro had 18 points, making all three of his 3-point tries and 5-of-5 at the foul line.
• UK is 6-0 this season when Herro makes at least three 3-pointers. 
• UK is 10-0 this season when Herro scores at least 15 points.   
• Ashton Hagans had five points, a career-high nine assists and two steals.
• Hagans has 12 consecutive games with at least three assists. He’s led the team in assists 12 times this season.  

• Hagans school-record streak of seven straight games with at least three steals came to an end tonight. His streak was the most by a freshman in a major conference since Chris Paul (Wake Forest) had a stretch of 10 straight games with three or more steals in the 2003-04 season.

• Keldon Johnson sparked the Wildcats with seven points in the early 10-0 flurry, finishing with nine points total. He added five points, two assists and tied his career best for steals with three. 
• Reid Travis had five points, and for the third time this season, collected a dozen rebounds.
• It’s the fifth time this season he’s led the team in rebounding. 
• Nick Richards had an active 10 minutes, totaling eight points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.
• The eight points are his best since the season-high 10 against Winthrop on Nov. 21. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 290-67 at UK, including 47-23 when both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25.  
• Calipari has a 735-207 all-time on-court record.
• Calipari is 13-0 vs. Mississippi State during his career. 
• He is now seven wins away from tying Joe B. Hall for the second-most victories by a UK head coach in program history. 

ESPN'S College GameDay Is Coming Back To Lexington

With the Kansas-Kentucky game as its backdrop, ESPN College GameDay will be at Rupp Arena on Jan. 26.

Admission will be free and fans are encouraged to attend the event. Seats for the show will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Gates will open at 9 a.m. with the live show starting at 11 a.m. Other segments from the crew for other ESPN shows will be taped prior to 11.

ESPN made the announcement Saturday during its first GameDay stop of the year at Duke. It’s the third straight season College GameDay will feature the Wildcats on their home floor.

Inside Rupp Arena, the ESPN College GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg will preview the Kansas-Kentucky SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup, which will feature the two winningest teams in college basketball history. Bilas, Dan Shulman and Maria Taylor will be on the call for the game tipping at 6 p.m.

Normal game-day policies at Rupp Arena will be in place, including the bag policy that requires that bags do not exceed 12” x 6” x 12”. Rupp Arena will also use walkthrough metal detectors, as it has all season. For more information on the game-day policies, please click here. Signs will be permitted at the show, though they are subject to screening for the telecast.

Season men’s basketball parking permits will be honored in their respective lots for both events (ESPN GameDay and Kansas-Kentucky).  The High Street parking lot will open at 7 a.m. for public parking and remain open all day at a rate of $20.

All students attending ESPN College Gameday and/or the Kansas-Kentucky game may begin lining up at the Rupp Arena student gate no earlier than 5 a.m. on Saturday. Rupp Arena staff will coordinate with students in line to determine their intent to attend the 6 p.m. game vs. Kansas. 

Students who are attending both ESPN College GameDay and the Kansas game will receive numbered wristbands and be required to return to line at the student gate by 3 p.m. Upon return to the student gate at 3 p.m., students will be placed in numbered wristband order in preparation for arena doors opening at 4:30 p.m. Students who return to the student gate after 3 p.m. will be placed at the end of the line. 

This will be UK’s 17th ESPN College GameDay appearance overall, behind only North Carolina (18), and the eighth trip to Lexington, Kentucky, tied for second overall. It’s the 10th straight season Kentucky is making an appearance on the show. 

The most memorable trip was on Feb. 13, 2010, when a record 22,144 fans attended the show in John Calipari’s first season at Kentucky. Another 15,087 attended the morning GameDay show on Feb. 23, 2013.

With a 6-10 record in College GameDay appearances, the Wildcats will look to make it two wins in a row with GameDay as the backdrop. Although the Wildcats lost their home appearance with the popular ESPN show in town last January, the Wildcats’ most memorable victory of the season in 2017-18 was the 17-point comeback at West Virginia under the spotlight of GameDay.

The Kentucky-Kansas matchup will headline the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the sixth season of the event between the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 and the fourth straight where all 10 games of the challenge will be played on the same day.

It will be the second time in three seasons UK has hosted the Jayhawks in the annual league challenge. The Jayhawks visited Rupp Arena in 2017 for the first time since 2005. Kansas won the matchup, 79-73, with GameDay in town.

UK has dropped the last three meetings with KU but leads the overall series 22-9. Kentucky is looking to avoid its first four-game skid in the series. The Wildcats lead the series 7-2 in Lexington.

This will mark the third matchup between the two schools on ESPN College GameDay.

OFFICIAL FINAL Box-Score From Kentucky's 82-80 Win Over Auburn

Notes From Kentucky's 82-80 Win Over Auburn

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY at AUBURN

AUBURN ARENA | AUBURN, ALA.

JAN. 19, 2019ATTENDANCE: 9,121

Final Score: No. 12/14 Kentucky 82, No. 14/12 Auburn 80

                                                             

Team Records and Series Notes

·         Kentucky moved to 14-3 overall, 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn is now 13-4, 2-2 in the SEC.

·         UK leads the series 93-19, including 31-15 in games played in Auburn, Alabama.

·         Today’s meeting was the eighth time that featured both Auburn and Kentucky ranked at the same time. UK is now 7-1 in those games.

·         Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats will return home for a two-game home stand, beginning with Tuesday vs. Mississippi State. That game will tip at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

In the First Half

·         Kentucky started Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Reid Travis for the 10th time this season. UK is now 7-3 with that lineup.

·         For the first time in four games, the Wildcats got off to an early lead with a 6-2 advantage. Travis earned an “and one” inside amid considerable pressure and Washington followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

o    Travis had a strong start with five points and three rebounds by the first media timeout, including an old-fashioned 3-point play inside and a dunk before the shot clock expired.

·         He picked up his second foul with 8:00 left in the half. He would come back in but only briefly and finished the first half with seven points and six rebounds.

·         UK held Auburn to just 3 for its first 15 shots from the field, including just 1 of 9 from 3-point land before Malik Dunbar hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut UK’s lead to 16-15.

o    The Tigers would hit their next four 3-point attempts for a 25-22 lead.

·         There were six ties and five lead changes in the first half. No team led by more than five points (UK at the 11:19 mark).

·         From 5:24 to 1:42 neither team made a field goal. 

o    The Wildcats held the Tigers without a made shot for the final 5:36 of the first half.

·         Highlighted by 3-pointers from Herro and Johnson, UK went on a 9-0 run to take the largest lead of the game for either team, 35-27, at halftime (the total run was 11-0 carried over to the second half).

·         Johnson responded wonderfully to his roughest night as a Wildcat earlier in the week when he was shutout in the points’ column at Georgia. He had 11 first-half points.

In the Second Half

·         Kentucky opened the second half with the same starting five: Hagans, Herro, Johnson, Washington and Travis.

·         UK didn’t let off the gas after the strong end to the first half. The Wildcats raced out of the locker room with a 10-2 run, highlighted by a Johnson “and one” and a 3-pointer from Herro.

o    Going back to the second half, it was a 19-2 run. That put Kentucky up 45-29 with 17:37 to play.

·         Auburn quickly fought back with an 8-0 run over just 54 seconds to cut UK’s lead to 48-40. After a Washington jumper and an Auburn 3, Johnson hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to quiet a raucous Auburn Arena crowd.

·         While Auburn tried to get back into the game with a flurry of second-half 3-pointers (eight in the second half), Kentucky calmly ran its offensive efficiently, making 14 of 21 (66.7 percent) for the half and 16 of 21 (76.2 percent) free throws. 

o    UK made 10 of its first 12 shots to begin the second half.

·         The Tigers went on an 11-0 run over a 2:17 time span to cut Kentucky’s lead to just 66-63 after Kentucky had led by 17 at one point in the second half. Travis ended the run with a two-hand slam and Herro followed with a driving layup as he was fouled. 

·         With 1:30 to play, Auburn pulled to within two, 79-77, and then on the ensuing possession took the lead, 80-77, on a Jared Harper 3-pointer.

·         Herro drove the ball to the right baseline and was fouled. He calmly sank both free throws to put the Cats back up one with 25 seconds to play.

·         Harper missed a layup with just under seven seconds to go and Immanuel Quickley corralled the rebound and was promptly fouled. He sunk his first free throw, but missed the second.

·         With UK up by two, 82-80, Auburn’s last-second heave was wide left and the Cats hung on for the win.

Team Notes

·         UK is in the midst of potentially playing three straight ranked opponents in a row depending on how Monday’s rankings shake out. Should Mississippi State and Kansas remain in the rankings, it will mark the first time Kentucky has played three straight Associated Press Top 25 teams since the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

o    It would be the first time in the regular season since the final three games of the 2005-06 regular season.

·         Kentucky improved to 3-1 in true road games this season.

o    The Wildcats are 4-3 away from Rupp Arena in 2018-19.

·         UK is now 247-5 when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest under John Calipari. The Wildcats have led by 10 points or more in a whopping 85.5 percent of Calipari’s 289 wins at Kentucky.

·         Kentucky is now 54-27 vs. opponents in the Associated Press Top 25 under Calipari.

o    UK is 44-25 under Calipari when both opponents are ranked inside the AP Top 25.

·         Saturday marked Kentucky’s first victory vs. a top-15 SEC opponent on the road since March 1, 2006.

o    The Wildcats are 6-1 under Calipari when it plays an SEC opponent and both are ranked inside the top 15.

·         Kentucky took full advantage of Auburn big man Austin Wiley missing the game with a lower-leg injury. The Wildcats outscored the Tigers 38-24 in the paint.

o    UK is now 12-2 this season when outscoring its opponent in the lane.

·         The Wildcats also outrebounded and active Auburn team 33-26 to move to 12-2 when outrebounding the competition.

·         Auburn made 13 3-pointers. It’s the sixth time UK has allowed 10 or more 3-pointers in a game this season.

Player Notes  

·         Keldon Johnson came back in a big fashion after being shutout earlier in the week at Georgia. He scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

·         It was his team-leading 14th time in double figures.

·         It’s the seventh time he’s led Kentucky in scoring.

·         The 20 points were Johnson’s most since scoring 21 vs. North Carolina on Dec 22.

·         Tyler Herro matched Johnson’s output with 20 points, 15 of it coming in the second half.

·         After starting 2 of 7 he was sensational down the stretch, making 4 of 5 the rest of the way.

·         It’s his third 20-point effort of the season and first since scoring 21 against Texas A&M.

·         He also dished out four assists and has four dimes in back-to-back games.

·         He has knocked down 17 straight free throws.

·         Reid Travis posted 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and was a perfect 5 for 5 at the free throw line.

·         It’s the most points Travis has scored since he scored 20 against North Carolina on Dec. 22.

·         He has charted double-figure scoring games 11 times this season and 80 in his career.

·         He had a team-high-tying seven rebounds.

·         PJ Washington had 13 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists in another all-around effort.

·         It’s the eighth time this season he’s scored in double figures and the 31st time in his career.

·         He has six or more rebounds in six of UK’s last seven games.

·         He’s led UK in rebounding in a team-high eight games this season.

·         Ashton Hagans had six points, a game-high six assists and a career-high seven rebounds.

·         His streak of three or more steals stretched to seven games with three more thefts in today’s win. He is already believed to have the record and it’s the most for a Power 5 freshman since Chris Paul had a stretch of 10 straight games with three or more steals in the 2003-04 season.

·         He has dished out three or more assists in 11 straight games.

Calipari

·         Calipari is now 289-67 at UK. 

·         He has a 734-207 all-time on-court record.

·         Calipari is now eight wins away from tying Joe B. Hall for the second-most victories by a UK head coach in program history.

·         He improved to 333-102 all-time in conference games, including 125-36 in the SEC.

·         Calipari is 10-5 vs. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.

·         Calipari is 77-50 all-time when both opponents are ranked inside the AP Top 25, including 46-23 as coach of Kentucky.

Notes From Kentucky's 85-74 Win Over Texas A&M

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. TEXAS A&M

RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.

JAN. 8, 2019
ATTENDANCE: 22,048

Final Score: No. 18/18 Kentucky 85, Texas A&M 74

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 11-3 overall, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M is 6-7, 0-2 in the SEC.
• Kentucky leads the series 10-4, including 7-2 in games played in Lexington. 
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play host to Vanderbilt on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
• Tonight’s attendance of 22,048 was a Rupp Arena season high. 

In the First Half

• Kentucky started Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Reid Travis for the third time this season. UK is now 4-3 with that lineup.
• Texas A&M jumped out to a 10-0 lead as the Wildcats did not score on their first seven possessions, including four turnovers.
• UK finally broke the ice on a Johnson putback with 15:42 remaining. 
• Trailing 16-11, UK exploded with a 13-0 run to claim a 24-16 lead.  Herro scored the final seven points of the spurt with four foul shots, capped by a 3-pointer with 9:28 to go. 
• Thirteen of UK’s first 17 points came from the bench brigade.  
• With 6:12 on the clock, an Ashton Hagans steal and breakaway led to an intentional foul by the Aggies’ Wendell Mitchell. After the play, there were offsetting technical fouls on P.J. Washington and TAMU’s Christian Mekowulu, and then a contact technical on A&M’s John Walker.
• That led to four straight foul shots by Hagans and a basket by Johnson, a six-point possession for the Wildcats to make the score 35-21.
• Jemarl Baker Jr. tallied a rare four-point play when he sank a rainbow 3 from the right corner and swished the ensuing foul shot with 57 seconds left.
• UK led by as many as 14 points on three occasions and went to halftime with a 46-34 advantage.
• Foul shots were the difference in the first half as UK made 14 of 16 while the visitors got their way to the charity stripe only twice, making both. 

In the Second Half

• Kentucky opened the second stanza with Hagans, Herro, Johnson, Washington and Nick Richards. 
• UK once again equaled its largest lead at 54-40 before Jay Jay Chandler scored seven straight to cut the TAMU deficit in half. 
• Washington came to the rescue. He missed a shot but tipped in his own miss, claimed a defensive rebound, then scored a post move to give UK a bit more breathing room at 58-47 with 13:28 to go.
• The relief was short-lived, however, as the determined Aggies rallied again, eventually cutting the cushion to 66-64 with 7:55 to play.
• Immanuel Quickley hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 to go, countered by a TAMU basket. 
• Nursing a 69-66 lead, a Herro 3-pointer with 5:54 left started an 8-0 UK run to make it 77-66 and the Wildcats led comfortably the rest of the way.

Team Notes

• UK shot 51.8 percent from the field today. It is UK’s sixth game of the season shooting 50 percent or better, all wins.
• The Wildcats made a season-high 91.3 percent on their foul shots tonight, 21 of 23. 
• UK had 11 steals tonight, one shy of the season high.
• Kentucky is now 47-12 under Calipari in “bounce back” games after losses, including 3-0 this season.
• UK improved to 244-5 (.980) under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at any point in the game. 
• UK has won 12 in a row at Rupp Arena, dating back to last season. 

Player Notes  

• Ashton Hagans had a career-high 18 points along with four assists and a game-high five steals.
• It is Hagans’ third straight game to establish his career high, as he had 11 points at Louisville, 12 at Alabama and 18 tonight.
• Part of Hagans’ point production was a career-best 10-of-11 night at the foul line.
• It is his second-most steals this season and he has at least three thefts in four straight games.
• Tyler Herro pumped in 21 points, the second time in the last three games he has eclipsed the 20-point mark.
• He has scored double figures in eight straight games and is averaging 19 points over the last three contests. 
• Immanuel Quickley had an efficient 13 minutes of action, totaling 10 points, two assists and three steals.
• Quickley made all four of his field goals, including two 3-pointers. 
• It is his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 286-67 at UK. 
• Calipari has a 731-207 all-time on-court record.
• He is now 11 wins away from tying Joe B. Hall for the second-most victories by a UK head coach in program history.