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.