Dec. 23, 2009

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Team Records and Series Notes

• With the win, Kentucky improves to 13-0 and with the loss, Long Beach State is 6-6.
• Off to a 13-0 start, UK has jumped out to the best start to a season since the 1977-78 team opened 14-0. The 1953-54 team opened a school-record 25-0.
• UK won the first meeting between the two teams, marking the fourth first-time opponent for the Wildcats this season. Over the last seven seasons, UK owns a 28-4 record against first-time foes. The game also marked the first UK game against a Big West opponent in program annals.
• Kentucky has now won 93 of its last 116 home games, owning a 435-60 all-time record in Rupp Arena.
• Following the holiday break, UK will return to action, hosting Hartford Dec. 29. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena, with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

First-Half Notes

• Kentucky opened with the lineup of John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Darius Miller, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins. With this lineup, UK owns a 12-0 record.
• 49er senior guard Stephan Gilling connected on a three pointer to get the scoring started.
• Wall’s dunk got UK on the board with 18:30 left in the period.
• Daniel Orton was the first UK player off the bench, checking in for Cousins with 17:47 left on the clock. Orton has been the first UK player to check in off the bench in a team-best nine games this season.
• Miller’s 3-pointer from the wing with 16:40 left in the half marked UK’s first trey of the game, extending its streak to 724 consecutive games with a 3-pointer, the third-longest streak in the nation.
• DeAndre Liggins’ fast-break layup evened up the game at 11 with 14:17 left in the first half.
• Long Beach State guard Casper Ware’s contested lay-up with 12:03 left gave The Beach a 15-14 lead.
• Patterson’s lay-in off a fast-break assist from Bledsoe cut the LBSU lead to 18-16 with 10:43 left in the first period.
• Darnell Dodson’s 3-pointer from the wing gave the Wildcats a 19-18 lead with 9:33 left in the half.
• At the under eight-minute media timeout, UK held a 23-19 advantage, with Wall leading all scorers with seven points.
• After the game was evened up at 30, Bledsoe completed a fast-break layup to give UK a short-lived two-point lead.
• 49er Jesse Woodard drilled a 3-pointer with 22.7 seconds left in the half to even the game at 35.
• Miller connected for two points with just over five seconds left to give UK a 37-35 lead, before LBSU’s Larry Anderson was fouled under the basket to even the game up with 37.
• At the half, the game was evened up at 37-37, with UK owning a 22-21 lead in rebounds. Wall led UK in scoring, with 10 of the 11 UK players who saw action charting points.

 Second-Half Notes

• UK opened with the starting lineup of Wall, Harris, Miller, Patterson and Cousins. That marks the second game this season where Harris has started the second half.
• Both teams traded baskets to open the half, with UK getting two points from Cousins.
• At the under 16-minute media timeout, LBSU owned a 46-44 lead, with Anderson and T.J. Robinson leading The Beach with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• Bledsoe gave UK the lead out of the timeout, sinking a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 47-46.
• Following Bledsoe’s 3-pointer, Wall secured a steal and raced out on the break, getting fouled taking the ball to the rim, connecting on both attempts from the charity stripe to make it 49-46.
• Wall’s three from the top of the key forced a timeout from LBSU with 12:54 left in the contest and UK leading 56-51.
• With two free throws out of the under 12-minute media timeout, Patterson stretched UK’s lead to 58-53.
• On one offensive possession, Cousins got the first of two free throws, and after an offensive rebound, Wall connected on two from the charity stripe, to give UK its largest lead of the night at 63-55. UK led by six points with 7:28 in the first half.
• With Bledsoe’s jumper in transition with just over eight minutes left, UK extended its lead to double figures, 67-57.
• Wall’s 3-pointer through the LBSU zone defense stretched UK’s lead to 73-62 with just under six minutes remaining.
• At the under four-minute media timeout, UK owned an 80-66 advantage, with Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe and Patterson each totaling double figures.

Team Notes

• Kentucky is the all-time winningest basketball program in NCAA history, owning a 2,001-631-1 record. With a 44-point win over Drexel Monday night, UK became the first team in basketball history to claim 2,000 wins.
• Head coach John Calipari is off the best start of any coach in program history, opening up with a 13-0 record. Adolph Rupp opened his career 10-0 in 1931, his first season in Lexington.
• The attendance of 24,288 fans at Rupp Arena marked the fourth-largest crowd this season.
• Kentucky won the rebounding battle for the 12th time in 13 games this year, outrebounding LBSU, 45-38.
• The Wildcats outscored LBSU 38-36 in points in the paint, claiming wins in the battle for points off turnovers (14-12), second-chance points (10-7), fast-break points (10-4) and bench points (18-12).
• UK has held all 13 opponents under 50-percent shooting from the field after holding The Beach to a 41-percent clip from the floor, including a 37-percent mark in the first half.
• Kentucky dished out 17 assists and committed just nine turnovers, coming just one turnover shy of the season-low for turnovers (vs. UNC Asheville).
• UK has forced 10 or more turnovers in 12 of 13 games this year.
• UK has won by 13 or more points in four straight games and in seven of 13 contests.

Individual Notes

• Wall finished with a game-high 19 points, adding five assists, four steals and four rebounds in 27 minutes.
  • Wall has now scored in double figures in all 12 games of his career.
  • Has two or more assists in each game this season.
  • After going 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, has made 11 consecutive free throws, dating back to the Indiana game.
• Patterson totaled his sixth double-double of the season with a 15-point, 11-rebound outing, adding two blocks, two steals and two assists in 32 minutes.
  • Patterson now owns 27 career double-double performances.
  • He has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games this season.
  • Two steals marked a season high.
• In just a season-low 13 minutes of action, Cousins totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists, one block and two steals.
  • Made 22 consecutive free throws, dating back to the Indiana game, before missing the back-end of a 1-and-1 in the second half.
  • Was limited to two points and one rebound in two minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
  • Totaled his sixth double-double of the year.
  • With three assists, set a new career high.
  • Has started all 13 games of his career.
  • Has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games this season.
• Bledsoe finished with 11 points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal in 30 minutes.
  • Bledsoe has now scored in double figures in five games this season.
  • Has at least one assist in each game this year, coming one shy of his season high.
  • With one 3-pointer made, Bledsoe has netted a three in nine of 13 games this year.
  • Has started 13 consecutive games.
• Harris totaled seven points, two rebounds, one assists and one block in 20 minutes of action.
  • Harris has charted seven or more points in two straight games.
• Dodson charted five points and one rebound in 10 minutes.
  • Has a 3-pointer in seven consecutive games.